Twilight
by Groodle
Summary: This is a story that tells of the events up to, in, and after Twililght Princess from the Twili view. A.K.A. Midna andor Zant The story is in 3 parts: Dusk, The Gloaming, and Sunset.
1. Chapter 1

Twilight

By Jordan Bilak

Part 1: Dusk

Chapter 1: Daughter of Darkness

A young woman in her late twenties paced the earthy floor anxiously. The room she was in was unbearably hot and beads of sweat could be seen on her olive colored skin. Her bright red hair gave connotation to the fact that she was the only pure blooded Gerudian left alive in the fair land of Hyrule. She paused for a moment, her face contorting from one of worry to one of grim-set-determination. She walked slowly over to the window and pulled away the gaudy, red curtains to see the outside world. Her thoughts drifted to the duty she was about to fulfill. _"This will be the last time I see daylight."_ The grim thought entered her head and would not leave as quickly as it usually did. Her resolve seemed to fail as she sank onto a large floor cushion. A single tear came to her eye as she started to talk out loud to herself.

"Don't worry, Endora, everything will be fine." she tried to say with a grin. "I'm not worried about myself though, it's Midnight—my baby girl—who I'm scared about." Endora sobbed quietly. She drew her knees up to her chest and enfolded her arms around them, trying not to completely lose her composure. A small tap on the wooden door made her look up with a start.

"Y-yes?" she stuttered, drying her eyes.

A small girl poked her head in the door. Her cherubic face, although still looking innocent, had the flare of an evil Gerudian. Her long red hair was not pulled back, but fell in waves across her face.

"Mom?" the girl asked timidly.

"Yes, Midnight?"

"I have a question that I need to ask you."

"Well then, come in."

The young girl ran in quickly, shut the door softly, and ran to Endora. She threw her arms around the woman lovingly, and the girls face buried itself into the space between Endora's head and shoulders.

"I love you." She said in a muffled voice.

Endora felt small cool tears running down her back from the daughter who hung onto her. Endora ran a delicate hand through her daughter's hair.

"Sssshhh Midnight, it'll be ok. What's wrong?"

Midnight extracted herself from her mother to look into her face with big eyes. "I…I know that you have been appointed for a reason, and that you are the only one who can do this job. But…What's going to happen to me? What are they going to do to me? How am I going to live without you?" she sobbed.

"Aw, baby, don't worry. I have it all arranged." Endora lied quickly, she had no idea what was happening; the people conducting the entire situation had refused to tell her.

"Y-you do?"

"Of course I do, now you should run along and play before the ceremony starts."

Midnight nodded, hugged her mother one last time, and then left quickly.

Endora sighed as she looked down at the floor. How could she lie to her baby girl? She had made so many mistakes in her life, how could she explain to Midnight that this was a way to redeem herself and her family. She was the only pure blood Gerudian thief left, and it was her duty to take care of the last remaining inkling of the bloodline.

"But is this really the best way to protect her?" she asked herself.

"Of course it is!" a whispered voice said.

She jumped up, startled. And the whisper laughed. A man was leaning against the open doorpost. He was tall by any standard, but very skinny, and his skin was very pale, giving him a sickly appearance. His eyes seemed to emanate bright red, letting anyone who crossed his path know that he was not a sickly weakling.

"You startled me." Endora recovered lamely.

The man sniggered, crossed his arms, and walked towards her. His black clothing touching her bare skin as he brought his mouth as close to her ear as would allow, "And, are you having doubts?" the faint voice asked.

Endora took a few steps back, her body starting to close up for fright, "N-no. I know what I must do, I have no doubt that it will work."

The man allowed a small smile to flit around his lips. "Well then, the ceremony is about to begin, you should get ready."

And with that, he turned around and left hastily. Endora shuddered as soon as she knew he was gone from hearing range. She closed the door giddily and looked around. "That Nyx, he always manages to unnerve me…"

The shabby, run-down building that seemed to be sitting in the middle of nowhere was not your average ruin. Most travelers who passed by it just ignored, ruins were plentiful in Hyrule. Underneath the guise of a broken ruin a deadly secret grew in power. Hyrule had been at peace for at least two generations since the great and deadly imprisoning war. The dominant race of that land, the Hylians, had finally formed a great resistance against the opposing and usually suppressed race of the Gerudian Thieves. The Gerudians were not like most races, they were cursed to have only one male born every one-hundred years. The Gerudians say that it is a great mystery surrounding the slightly disturbing and confusing curse, but no Hylian has ever known it and lived. Most of the Gerudians had been either killed during the war or slaughtered after the Hylians regained control. The leader of the Gerudians at that time was an ambitious Gerudian male named Ganondorf, who had risen up a rebellious army of both the undead and his fellow thieves. Unfortunately for the Hylians, Ganondorf still had followers. They were called "The Dark Interlopers" and were obsessed with finding a way to bring Ganondorf from his spiritual prison and back into the world of flesh and blood. Most people ignored the eccentric group of wizards, remaining Gerudians, and noblemen who had a beef with the leading authority at any given time. This group was usually a headless rabble, but ever since a young and up-coming wizard named Nyx had become self appointed leader, they had been very organized and usually hostile towards any trespassers. Nyx's rise to power was led on the assumption that he was the only wizard who knew how to bring back Ganondorf.

Many people, all loyal to the Gerudian King, were now filtering into the ruins where a solitary altar stood. The altar was made of oddly carved stone and seemed to resemble a large scorpion. Its large legs were so delicately carved that you could see the supposedly minute hairs on them. Its tail arched gracefully over half of the body and a crescent moon with one star, the Gerudian Symbol, was gouged deep into the scorpions back. The crowd grew silent as Nyx came up and stood behind the altar, his bony fingers pressing into the stone to stabilize himself, he had not expected _this_ _many_ people to come to the ceremony. He realized that this would be to his advantage if the spell he had learned worked. He stared down at the archaic symbol carved into the altar. He placed a long fingernail inside the beginning of the line; he uttered a few words in his whisper of a voice. A red beam of light shot from his finger and lit up the entire carving. The eyes of the altar started to glow, and it looked very lifelike. The giant claws twitched menacingly as several bystanders backed away. The entire crowd fell silent and watched, anticipating the return of their leader. Nyx smiled and turned around to face a small room that had a wooden door in it. He nodded to a small, red-haired girl who was leaning against the door and she quickly pocked her head in the door. She then left the door open and walked to the edge of the horde. Nyx's smile stayed upon his face as his left hand flourished to signal the door.

"Bring her." he commanded.

The door opened all the way and two small wizards escorted Endora to the foot of the altar, she was looking straight into the lifelike eyes. She walked around to the front and sat down upon the altar, facing the horde. Before her, a sea of anticipating faces waited eagerly for that which would ultimately be her death.

"Do you know why you were chosen?" Nyx interrupted her reverie.

"Yes." Endora answered timidly.

"Speak up so that the horde can hear you." he hissed.

"Yes, I know why I have been chosen." she stated loudly and clearly.

He smiled, "Very good." He grabbed her arm and forced it to the altar, she did not resist. Her head was placed at the base of the tail, so that her midriff, conveniently bare, was in direct line with the deadly tail.

"This woman has been chosen to bring back our King for several reasons." Nyx continued for the benefit of the horde that had not immediately guessed. "Endora is a true-bred Gerudian, and her family and ancestry has been loyal to Ganondorf. She shall be serving us all by doing this immense sacrifice." he said this as he drew his hand across her stomach and placed his palm firmly in direct line of the end of the tail.

He closed his eyes; it all depended on the incantation now. He started to whisper something. It was very quiet, and the audience leaned forward and strained to hear, hardly daring to breath. Nyx's voice grew louder until it was almost a shout. The red lines started to criss-cross the scorpion's body, the red lines strained to reach the tail. Nyx drew his hand away at the very last moment; the tail descended and pierced her. Endora tried to cry out, but now sound came, only blood.

Midnight turned her face from it. Hot tears blurring her vision, she could not cry, not in front of this hardened and bloodthirsty group. Her mother was giving up her life, and she knew it hadn't been willingly. "Mom…" she whispered as she heard the gruesome sounds of her mother's last, juicy breath. Endora's breathing stopped, her pace died and her eyes were frozen open in a complete look of terror. All was quiet for three minutes. A small rustling of impatience came rippling through the crowd, but Nyx silenced them with a wave of his hand, and a gesture towards the horrible sacrifice. He grabbed four large items. The first seemed to resemble half of a female face, it had two horns though, and it was round like a crown. The rest were carved stone, the same as the female face, he placed them together like it was a jigsaw puzzle. Nyx placed the completed and very strange object on the sacrifice and backed away.

"Behold the power of the fused shadows!" he screamed at the crowd.

Red light started to emanate from Endora's wound, and it spread to her eyes and her mouth. It pulsed and throbbed spectacularly. A dark cloud seemed to seep out of the wound, and several more clouds seeped out of the eyes and mouth. The cloud took the form of a man, but not a distinguishable form, just a silhouette of one. It hovered over the prone figure, until everyone could see a distinct change in the victim. Her face seemed to be rapidly decaying. Nyx realized that it was only Ganondorf, drawing all the life he could out of the sacrifice before it was wasted. The figure left the soon decomposed carcass of the sacrifice and started to materialize before the altar. His back was turned to the horde and he faced Nyx. Nyx stared into the eyes of his master for the first time; he was stunned to see that Ganondorf had only aged what seemed ten years when he should have been nothing but a skeleton himself. Ganondorf held his crimson cape and swirled it expertly as he turned around to face his servants. They all bowed deeply, some even fell to the ground in shock, gratitude, or even fear. Only one girl stayed upright and didn't flinch when Ganondorf's power hungry eyes settled upon the girl, Midnight.

Midnight wasn't aware of her surroundings; she didn't see anything except the rotted and decayed corpse of her mother. Tears stained her cheeks as she stared straight past Ganondorf and at Endora. Ganondorf studied the small girl who seemed to be unafraid and turned to Nyx, who was silently celebrating his success.

"Who is that girl?" he asked, pointed at Midnight.

Nyx looked over to see the girl, grief stricken, standing upright. He ran over to her and it her hard across the face. "Bow you pathetic child, do you not know who you face?" he hissed at her as she fell to the ground.

Midnight clutched her face where he had struck her, but she kept her eyes on her mother. "Endora…" She whispered unbelievingly.

Nyx turned around quickly to face his master. "No one, Sir, she is only a small child."

"And why exactly do you let children come to such events as these?" he asked, slightly bemused.

Nyx stuttered. "Well, she was the daughter of the sacrifice. She is the last true-bred Gerudian, and she is one of the few Gerudians who actually still follow you." he explained hastily.

"And why have you not killed her?"

Nyx stayed silent, he didn't ever think to kill the young girl. "She is not very important, and she may be of use when she grows older." he mumbled.

Ganondorf walked up to the tearful girl and looked condescendingly down on her. "Are you the last of the family Colyta?" he demanded.

The girl only nodded, Ganondorf—being a massive eight feet tall—towered over her so that she felt like only a small pathetic bug pleading for its life.

"Your family has made great sacrifices for me." he reached down, grabbed her by the wrists, and yanked her up. "I promised your family that they would get a great reward, and you shall get it."

"Sir, she is only a child!" Nyx screamed, he was expecting the reward.

"But her family has done great things, and her reward will work towards my advantage." he answered in a measured tone.

"W-what is the… reward?" Midnight asked.

"How would you like to rule a kingdom, Daughter of Darkness?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A Forbidden Blade

A rustle of surprise swept the crowds and whispered conversations started abruptly. Midnight stared blankly at the man who was known to be one of the most merciless men ever to have lived. Nyx snarled and grabbed Midnight, shaking her by the shoulders.

"Answer him." he commanded in his anger.

She stumbled back out of Nyx's reach, sobs caught in her throat. Nyx turned around and faced his master in disgust.

"How could she rule a kingdom? She is pathetic, and not even old enough to be considered in any plan."

"I do not plan on letting her rule a kingdom, I plan on destroying the kingdom before it needs a ruler, but I need a ruler who I can trust in case my plan fails." Ganondorf answered.

Nyx stared at him with a puzzled expression.

"I will explain it all when the time comes, but for now we need to keep the girl with us. We need to hurry; the Hylian Sages have already sensed my arrival into this world."

"What are we going to do? We are not very powerful yet." Nyx asked uncertainly.

"I have some contacts who know more followers." he answered vaguely.

Nyx turned around and pulled Midnight close to him. "If you make one mistake it will give me the only excuse I have to kill you. Now, follow me." he said as he pulled her towards the stables, where Ganondorf had headed.

The crowd, seeing that the meeting was over, headed back to their respective houses. Some stragglers of the group saw two lean and fit horses gallop out of the stables, a caped figure on one and two figures on the other.

Midnight was exhausted, from the grief of her mother's death, to the continual sandy wind that threatened to bowl the horses over as they ran across the haunted wastelands. She pressed her head lower and into the brown horse's mane, as the continual motion of the horse jolted her painfully. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the muttered threats that Nyx, who was controlling the horse, had told her throughout the ride. She contemplated the suggestion that Ganondorf had said when he had first seen her. _How could I be a ruler, I'm not even nine!_ She sobbed as she contemplated what Ganondorf had in store for her. Nyx hit her in the back of the head.

"Be quiet" he muttered to sobbing passenger.

Midnight did not pay attention, but looked out into the darkened wasteland. She sat bolt upright. "Endora!" she cried.

Nyx flicked his line of vision to where the young girl was pointing. He slowed the horse down, he had not seen anything.

"Mom!" Midnight shouted, trying to struggle off the horse.

Nyx snarled as he held her back. "Your mother is dead!"

"But—she's right there!"

"No she isn't, why do you think this place is called the haunted wasteland?" Nyx answered calmly.

Ganondorf had slowed also and seemed to be scouting for a good campsite.

"I-Is, she a ghost?" Midnight asked softly.

"No, what you see is a Poe, a spirit which prefers to scare people by taking one person from their memories and imitating them."

"Is that why this place is called the Desert of Memories?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied as he caught up with Ganondorf who had found a small alcove for them to set up camp in.

After two days of hearing nothing but Nyx's curses, mutterings, and complaints, Midnight's patience was draining fast. What did he have to do? Had he just had his mother murdered? Was he having responsibility heaped down upon him? Midnight didn't understand why Nyx was so bitter. Nyx was power hungry—yes—but he had never been abusive to any of his followers unless they had been disobedient. Midnight now suffered Nyx's ill humor and was constantly bossed around by the man who had dragged her along. She was starting to become angry and rebellious against both of them, even though she was still curious to know what they had in store for her. By this time in their journey they had gotten out of the haunted wasteland and were traveling through the green land of the main land of Hyrule. In the hazy distance a castle with large soaring buttresses was clearly etched upon the sky. It's gothic like architecture soared majestically and seemingly blocked out a quarter of the sky. Small cottages dotted the peaceful countryside, and the birds twittered happily in the trees. They were headed towards the castle, although there was no straight bath. They had spanned massive gorges and walked through shady towns. For a young girl who had never seen outside of her house and the Dark Interloper headquarters, it was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to her. The amazing beauty of the land distracted her from both her traveling companions.

The days went by much to quickly for Midnight's liking and soon they were in the shadow of the massive castle.

"Why have we come here?" Nyx asked the day they crossed the large drawbridge to enter the flourishing city of Hyrule.

Ganondorf pulled the hood of his cloak down further as they passed the inattentive guards. "We are here because I have people I need to speak too." he said vaguely.

"Are you going to tell me who they are?"

"No I am not, you are to stay in the town square with the girl until I am done with my business." he ordered.

Nyx grew indignant and almost threw off his cloak hood. "I used the fused shadows didn't I? I resurrected you! Why can't I be in on these 'plans' of yours?" he hissed loudly.

Ganondorf stopped his horse dead in its tracks, inconveniencing a group of passing nobles who sniffed loudly as they passed by. "You shall know in time Nyx; once I have confirmed my suspicions I will tell you everything, but not until then."

"Why?" Nyx muttered again. "I'm sick of getting only questions and not answers!"

Midnight winced; whatever came of this situation would not be good.

They entered into the busy square, the large, open entrance to the palace on the other side of the square. Ganondorf dismounted his horse and his followers did the same. He turned to face Nyx, and shoved the reigns of the horses into his hands. "Watch the horses." he sneered.

Nyx sputtered angrily as his master walked away towards the palace. Midnight decided to take advantage of his anger and nab a few rupees out of his wallet which hung loosely by his belt. Being a young girl in a horde of people who were convinced that they should bring back Ganondorf and probably legions of the dead had taught her much. She grabbed his entire wallet and started to run away. He heard her footsteps and turned around quickly.

"Where are you going?" he shouted angrily.

She turned around and smiled innocently. "Ganondorf didn't tell me to stay with you, and he didn't tell you to watch me. I'm going to shop." she stated playfully.

"You have no money" Nyx observed dryly.

Midnight waved Nyx's wallet around and winked. "Oh, but I do."

Nyx's curses still rang in her ears as she entered a rather expensive looking shop, quietly confident that she had won the victory for once.

Midnight entered a friendly looking bar that sold both candies and drinks. She politely grabbed treats and a sweet drink and sipped happily by the window. She glanced out of the window to see Nyx; standing, very disgruntled, being scolded by an old woman who was holding a piece of fruit in front of him. She giggled and looked down at the wallet she held, and her ears caught the sound of her master's name. Two women were sitting at the table next to her, their heads were close together and they whispered excitedly.

"Did you hear?"

"Oh yes, although I can't believe it!"

"Why not?"

One of the women shrugged. "I cannot believe that Ganondorf is back. How could someone find a way to break the protective seal on the sacred realm?"

Both sat quiet for a second. "A very solemn thought," the other one finally replied. "Whoever these people are, they must be very powerful."

"Do you think that he'll attack Hyrule, the princess he swore revenge on died of old age a long time ago."

"I don't know, no one knows the extent of his vow, Zelda never told anyone."

One of the women's mouths twitched into a half smile.

"But, you have to admit, we have the best army. And the sages have that secret weapon, I'm sure us Hylians will be safe, we are prepared this time."

Both nodded to themselves and took a gulp of their drinks. Midnight glanced outside to see if Ganondorf was back yet. Is that why he was here, to see the weapon? She bit her lower lip and grabbed the wallet. She didn't care about any weapons or a rule of darkness over this lovely land. Right now she was only concerned about spending all of Nyx's cash to spite him. She snuck out of the shop quickly, melting into the crowd and headed towards the more shady looking shops. She glanced into the windows leisurely. She did not see anything that was worthy of her stolen money. She poked her head into a particularly dark shop when a glint of a dagger caught her eye. She stepped into the shop and followed the glitter hastily to the back of the shop.

The dagger was a lovely thing, if a dagger could be called lovely. She gazed at its cool, jagged metal blade. It had strange runes on it, the same runes that had been on the object that Nyx had called the "Fused Shadows." Its hilt was small and a perfect fit for her hand, the top of it had a protrusion which looked like an eye with five spikes on top of it. The sides of the eye seemed to have small legs carved into it and the legs seemed to be intertwined with the hilt. She held the dagger up, testing the feel of it in her hand. She had never been allowed near the weapons, but she knew she would probably need one soon. She looked at the price tag; she had just enough rupees to buy it. She walked confidently up to the man sitting behind the long table at the back of the shop.

"I'd like to buy this." Midnight stated flatly as she pushed the dagger onto the table.

The man glanced at her, "I'm afraid that this is a much too dangerous object to sell to a child." he said in a tired voice.

"I have the money."

The man examined her again. "Why do you want it?"

"Your business is to sell things, my business is of no interest to you." she replied calmly.

The man looked slightly bemused as he emptied the wallet she had held up to him. He counted the rupees, and when he was satisfied he nudged the dagger back to her. "Take it, and be done with it."

She grabbed it, slipped it into her belt and started to run out into the street.

"And for goodness sake, don't tell _anyone_ that I sold it to you." he added hastily.

Midnight gave a wave of recognition and ran back to the square to join Nyx. She glanced down to her dagger; on the top she saw a small symbol. She had seen the symbol many times, and from a regular glance no average person could tell there was even a symbol. But as she gazed at it, she recognized it. It was the symbol of the Dark Interlopers; this was a blade that came from her people.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Revelation

Inside the castle, chaos had ensued only moments before. Servants were running from one person to the next, all carrying the same message; there had been a breach in security! The only room that wasn't chaotic in the entire castle was the throne room which was situated at the very top of the castle. It had an amazingly wonderful view of the land of Hyrule. Someone scurried up the large stone steps leading to the balcony. He did not pause to admire the scenery, but instead ran to the next flight of stairs which were relatively short. He scurried up and entered a colossal entryway into the throne room. The doors shut ominously behind him. Two tables had been set up beside the elegantly carved throne. The newly made king smiled gratefully as the man entered and signaled for him to take a seat next to himself. He was the king's chief advisor, and both had little experience in their new jobs. There were seven people at the surrounding tables, if you could call them people. They all were emanating light, and didn't seem to have any real body. They had tightly wrapped, elegant robes that flowed out around the legs—or where the legs should have been. They had flexible sandals that seemed to be laying on the ground, but they moved whenever the apparitions rustled or walked. Their tunic sleeves fell down to what seemed to be the elbows, but then there was no space until it reached neatly gloved hands. The tunic was pulled over most of their head so that only their face was visible. But at least two inches from where the face should have been a mask hovered in place. Each one of them looked the same, except that the masks had slightly different faces and they each had different themed adornments. The chief advisor ran up to the king but did not sit down. He grabbed a piece of parchment from his chair and started to read aloud.

"The emergency meeting of the council shall now come to order."

The slight murmuring of the apparitions died away.

"First we must take the role; Light?" he asked, unnecessarily loud.

One that had no adornments but seemed to be glowing more than the others raised a glove in acknowledgement.

"Forest?"

Another apparition that had adornments made to look like leaves and flowers raised a glove and smiled at the incredibly nervous advisor.

"Fire?"

"Here" said a gruff voice and the one that was glowing slightly red and had very lethal looking adornments raised a glove.

"Water?"

A voice that sounded like the tinkling of rain on ice made a pleasurable sound and raised a glove, his adornments were shimmering and catching the light that was in the room so much that the apparition within was barely visible.

"Shadow?"

One that glowed a little less than the others raised a hand, his mask had the appearance of only a single eye, the mark of the shadow people.

"Spirit?"

This one glowed normally, but had a faint yellowish tint. The gloved hand seemed to waver in the wind as it raised, and the entire apparition seemed so fragile that he would blow away if you only breathed by him. Several of the servants standing nearest to him had that same thought, and were either breathing shallowly or they were holding their breath.

"And Time?" he asked for the final time.

The tallest one, and the one that seemed to be in charge had been gazing through an hourglass that he always kept with him. He looked up with a startled expression and muttered something of acknowledgement.

The Advisor turned towards the King. "They are all here my Lord."

"Thank you, now take your seat."

With a slight bow he took his seat, and took a sigh of relief.

"I am sure you all know why we are here." the king stated calmly. "But to refresh our memories I shall tell you again. The man Ganon—"

"You mean _demon_." the fire apparition interrupted.

"No, I mean man. He has been defeated before, he is still mortal and human." he replied coolly. "Ganondorf has breached our security and found out our plans concerning him."

"Which one, we have so many plans concerning him?" the water apparition asked.

The king took a breath and started again. "I will tell all if you will let me get a point in without interrupting me!" he said with a glare. "Ganondorf has found out one of our most crucial plans, the one involving the _Mirror of Twilight_."

A rustle of disbelief flooded the crowd.

"This is our most powerful plan, and can still be used by us, but we need to decide what to do about this now common knowledge that Ganondorf has escaped the barrier that the human sages put upon him."

"Why did it break, it was a sages power." the forest apparition asked.

"It broke because it was our power, convoluted by a mortal. When the deities created us, they gave us the power. But we wanted to do our own thing; we did not want to have the responsibilities of supporting the safety of an entire country. We put humans in our place and granted them some of our power. But as you can see, it was not the full extent of our power we gave them." the shadow apparition explained.

"You make it sound like we did a bad thing." the water apparition accused hotly.

"It was a bad thing!"

"Why? It protected the land didn't it?"

"No it did not, because of us, evil is still running abroad and threatening to destroy civilization!" the shadow apparition exclaimed.

"I do not think we did anything wrong given our limited knowledge."

"Limited knowledge?" the time apparition asked disbelievingly. "We knew everything."

"We didn't know this."

"We did, but we ignored it!" the shadow apparition said again.

"Silence!" the king shouted over the argument that was boiling. "We are not going to argue in a time of crisis! We must decide what to do with the situation given us…"

"We should protect the Mirror of Twilight." the spirit apparition stated.

A murmur of assent rustled around the room. The king decided to ignore the tint of fear that was heard by everyone in the room.

"We shall protect it." the king said with finality.

Nyx was in a sour mood, having Midnight spend all of his money and Ganondorf degrade him was not doing anything to help it either. He glared at Midnight heatedly as they finished setting up their camp in an alcove in Hyrule field.

"What _did_ you spend all my money on anyway?" he asked coldly.

Ganondorf looked lazily over across the small campfire towards Nyx. "Nyx, stop harping over the fact, it's done and we can't get the money back."

"I would at least like to know _how _my money was wasted!" Nyx mumbled.

"I spent it on candy." Midnight teased, she felt a surge of power and touched the hidden dagger quickly.

Nyx glared at her and stood up. He looked over towards the small stack of firewood, "I'm going to get some more wood." he said abruptly. He then turned, and without looking back, walked off in a righteous fury.

Midnight examined the ground very intently for around five minutes, trying to hide a sly smile at winning over Nyx. She glanced hesitantly up, to see that Ganondorf was busy pouring over a few scrolls that he had taken from his "contact." She slipped the dagger out of its hiding place and stared at it lovingly. The firelight danced upon the runes carved into the blade, she seemed to be entranced by them.

A small humorless laugh interrupted her reverie, "So that's what you spent the money on."

She glanced up fearfully to see Ganondorf staring at the blade, she nodded. Nyx's footsteps crunched alarmingly near Midnight's back. He came into the firelight with a look of disdain.

"You spent my money on some worthless dagger?"

Midnight opened her mouth to reply but Ganondorf interrupted. "It is not worthless; in fact it might be useful."

"Why would a nice looking dagger be useful?" Nyx asked, trying to quell any emotion in his voice.

"That dagger has the markings of a Dark Interloper blade, it has special properties." Ganondorf replied.

"What are its special properties?"

"It is different with every blade, it is impossible to tell until the special property is used. It is usually used on accident."

Midnight stared down at the blade. "I can keep it?" she asked, her voice very quiet.

Ganondorf took his eyes off of Nyx and looked at her. "Yes, you can keep it, you may need it eventually."

"Why would she need it?" Nyx asked.

"I guess it is time for me to tell you the plan that I have." Ganondorf said in a resigned tone. "The seven sages have always expected my return from the Spirit Realm. The humans that first banished me did not make a very powerful magic seal, and the seal did not stand a chance against the Fused Shadows you used.

"Unfortunately, when you stole the fused shadows they realized that someone was trying to bring me back. They have been planning on a line of defense in case I try to destroy Hyrule again. That defense is something that I cannot break through, but it is something that may work for our advantage. This defense is called The Twilight Realm, and it is connected with the Spirit Realm. They would never send me to the Twilight Realm with my Dark Interlopers; they would send me back into the Spirit Realm. I need someone who I can trust to become the ruler of the Twilight Realm, someone who will not take any rash action." he stared pointedly at Nyx. "I need someone who has seen examples of her own family who have served me well. Midnight, if the sages manage to catch us and lock us away inside our respective realms, then you shall become the queen of Twilight. Nyx, you shall become her adviser, and nothing more. If you try to rule in her stead then I shall find a way to bridge the dark void separating the two realms." he said these last words in a very threatening tone, and Nyx pretended to stab a bug in the ground.

"This is your backup plan, what is the plan you tend to use first?" Midnight asked, she was getting slightly braver with the promise of a realm to rule.

Ganondorf smiled, "You are smart, Midnight, I will be trying to gain back the power which I lost when I was first banished."

"The Triforce?" Midnight asked, disbelief lacing her voice.

"Yes, the Triforce of Power, the Fused Shadows will help to guard the other two pieces until I find the people that they are destined to inhabit."

The Triforce; a great and slightly omnipotent power that inhabited the world of Hyrule. When the world had been first created, the three deities had taken their essences and put them inside the object which was deemed the Triforce. The deities, Nayru, Din, and Farore, were the deities of Wisdom, Power and Courage. It was said that if a righteous person entered the sacred realm, the place where the Triforce sat, and made a wish upon the power that the wish would be granted and Hyrule would be benefited. However, if an evil person wished upon the very same person than the Triforce would split into three separate parts. The essence that was most valued by the wisher would go to him or her, and the two others would depart to separate people. Hyrule would then plunge into a dark time of chaos and destruction. This had happened during the imprisoning war when Ganondorf had first tried to take the Triforce. It was not unexpected that he would try once again to take the power as his own.

"But why?" Midnight asked.

"I have more knowledge of the Triforce now, and I know that I must rule this land." Ganondorf said bluntly. Ganondorf then went over to his blanket and laid down to go to sleep. Nyx and Midnight followed example, but neither could go to sleep. The implications of Ganondorf once again ruling or all of them being sent to separate realms was information that drifted through their tired minds and would not allow either to go to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Beginnings

The sunset cast its sparkling and vivid colors across the sky. The colors of orange danced around the wispy clouds overhead. Pink, blue, and purple seemed to all blend together in a magnificent canvas overstretching a very depressing scene playing out at the gates of Hyrule. The beauty of the sky was lost on the silent horde of Dark Interlopers, all except one. Midnight hung to the back of the horde, along with Nyx and Ganondorf, sneaking glimpses up at the lovely sky. They all looked expectantly at the gates of the castle which had been shut at least thirty minutes before. The gates opened quickly and seemed to push a very scared looking soldier outside of their protection. The soldier walked fearfully through the crowd of Dark Interlopers as he carried what seemed to be a large scroll of parchment. As he approached Ganondorf he tried to stutter something, he ended up dropping the parchment and scurrying back through the horde. A few people raised their weapons, hoping to have a little fun with the expendable soldier. Nyx made a signal with his hand and the members put down their weapons. The man threw himself into the gates with the speed known only to those who are truly afraid. Midnight, at a signal from Ganondorf, bent down to pick up the scroll. She handed it up to him and walked back to her position beside Nyx. Ganondorf unrolled the parchment and scanned it. He handed it to Nyx with a look of disgust, Nyx read it equally fast. He made a sour face and threw the parchment to the ground.

"Who do they think we are?" he asked incredulously.

"They do not expect us to make a move so soon." Ganondorf said in a reasonable tone.

"Why? They should be cowering in fear after what happened in the imprisoning war!"

"The sages they now have are not the weaklings that I defeated; they have confidence in their abilities to fight me."

"Then they shall pay!" Nyx shouted loudly, the other Dark Interlopers cheered.

Ganondorf ignored his hordes and turned to Midnight. "I have a mission for you." he stated.

Midnight nodded and bowed slightly.

"I need you to get into Hyrule town, you are a child, and they shall not think that you are a danger. Tell them that you had been captured and that you escaped without being noticed. Then you must go to the southern gate, station yourself there for a few days. On the fifth day that you are in the town you must find a way to distract the guards stationed at the southern gate. Then, unlock them. That is all you will need to do." he explained.

"Yes, sir." Midnight said confidently.

Midnight hid outside of the guards site until nightfall. At night she went to a small gate, she slammed on the door hurriedly and started to shout in very well acted hysterics. A guard came to the door and opened it hesitantly. He saw Midnight, who was working at that exact moment on bringing tears to her eyes.

"Who are you?" he asked hesitantly.

"I've just escaped from the horde," she gasped. "They will come after me soon, I need to get in!"

"I'm sorry, if they are hunting you than I can't let you in, we have been commanded not to let anyone of any age in." he said and slammed the door in her face.

Midnight sobbed audibly and pleaded at the door, but her only reply was quick footsteps. She looked around, wondering where else she could get in. Surrounding most of the town was a moat. She kneeled down and stuck her hand in the water absentmindedly, the cooling water ran over her hands it felt very calming, and it helped her to think. There must be another way in! As soon as she was confident that she could find another way, her small dagger unexpectedly fell out and into the water. She scrambled to get it back, but it was carried away by the current. She noticed then that the current was unusually strong; she slipped into the water and let the current carry her away as well. A small hole was set in the wall about a foot below the water level. An adult would not be able to fit, but it was more than enough room for her. She took a deep breath and swam into the hole.

The current was so fast that it sped her along the tunnel. Before her air had even remotely run out, her read broke the water. She looked around; it was a very strange place where she had landed. It seemed to be a sewer, but chains hung ominously from the ceiling, and there were sidewalks along the river of water. She hauled herself up onto one of the sidewalks and started walking. She rounded a corner and came to a conveniently placed exit, this was too easy! She walked out of the sewer like area and started an ascent through a small dirty passageway. After a long and uneventful walk she came to a stone door, she pushed it hesitantly aside and walked into the well lit room.

"Ha, another vagabond coming to ask for money are you?" a jovial voice asked.

The light stunned Midnight that she could not answer for a second. She took in her surroundings slowly, she was in a back room and she was standing amongst piles of gold. The man who had asked her the question was a squat man who sat on top of a golden throne, he stroked his brown cat lovingly.

"It's considered good manners to answer a question." he said playfully.

"I-I'm, I was a prisoner of the horde that just confronted the King of Hyrule, I just escaped."

"Into the sewers?"

"Y-yes,"

"Well, I won't ask any more questions and you won't tell me anymore lies." he said. He extended a hand to Midnight. "I'm Jovani or, the 'Miser' as some people call me."

Midnight shook the hand gratefully, "Where am I in the town?" she asked.

"Near the southern gate, there's a nice doctor who will fix you right up if you need it," he sniffed "and I think you _really_ need it. Sewer smell doesn't suit nice girls like you."

"Thank you, I must go now." Midnight said thankfully.

"Bye!" Jovani waved, "If you need to get out of the castle quickly, feel free to stop by!"

She nodded and ran out of the door. Two guards leaned against the southern gate, one yawned and the other snored softly. Midnight scanned the road and saw the doctor's office, its many windows lit. She ran up to the door and knocked hesitantly, composing herself into a bedraggled position.

A young man with brown hair popped his head out of the top half of the split door; he had small glasses on the end of his nose and tight gloves on his hand. He gazed reprovingly at Midnight, "What'cha want?" he asked crossly.

Midnight put on a pathetic face and looked pleadingly up at the doctor. "Please, sir, I have just escaped a horrible fate and I am emotionally traumatized, I have no money to stay at the inn. I was wondering if I could gain admittance into your hospital?" she asked in the most innocent voice she could muster, at least half of what she was saying was true.

"Ya need _money_ to stay 'ere." he stated flatly.

"I'll work to pay for a room, I only need to stay for around five or six days."

The man pursed his lips as he considered the offer. He picked an imaginary piece of dust from his immaculate gloves. "Fine, you can stay here. You'll have to work hard though." he conceded.

Midnight bowed humbly, "Thank you, sir."

He opened the bottom half of the door and let Midnight in. "You'll 'ave to be in the third floor. There's one bathroom and two bedrooms up there, the one on the right is yours, and the one on the left is mine. I'll wake ye up when it's time to wake." he snapped.

Midnight bowed again and ran away to find her room. There was a very small corridor on the third floor, she ran to the door she suspected to be the bathroom. She cleaned up and slipped into her new room, and had a dreamless sleep.

After five uneventful days Midnight left the cold doctor to find a way to open the southern gate. In an alley out of the lazy guard's sight and hearing range she stopped to think. An idea struck her and she grabbed her dagger. She stretched her clothes away from her and started to slash at the clothes, she then carefully cut herself in several places, ignoring the pain. She raised the dripping dagger up under her right eye and made a quick slash. She gasped at the searing pain shooting up into her brain. She clutched the wound to stem the blood. The pain had not been very sharp before this last cut; she caught a sob in her throat and started to run towards the guards. She kept the dagger out in plain site as she collapsed in front of the guards, dripping blood from multiple cuts and crying in pain. Both guards stared at her, stunned. She took a deep breath, trying to ignore the self-inflicted cuts and started to talk. "I-I was caught, there are Dark Interlopers in the city." she showed them her dagger.

The guards both gasped and looked incredulously at each other.

"I found out about their plans," she gasped, "they discovered me and attacked me."

"What are their plans?" one of the guards asked excitedly.

"T-They are going to be attacking the northern gate in a very short time."

Both guards ran past her, not giving a second thought to the young girl's wounds. Midnight continued to sob until she was sure they were gone, she heard several alarm trumpets sound, some passers bye that had been staring at her looked around, frightened by the sound. One lady, meaning well, tried to lift Midnight up. "Please, come with me, your hurt I can help you. It's not safe to stay out once the trumpets sound." she said as she lifted Midnight up.

Midnight screamed very loudly and very convincingly, it hadn't hurt a bit but she needed people to think she was hopeless. "No, don't move me…" she said weakly.

The woman looked worried, but as another trumpet sounded she turned and scurried into a house. Midnight waited another five minutes until the entire street was deserted and all the windows had been closed. She staggered to her feet and flung her weight upon the heavy bar that locked the gate. It slid easily out and clattered loudly to the floor. She grabbed the handle, blood still spattering the ground and the door. She heaved the door open, it opened surprisingly well on its well greased hinges. In barged a very large amount of Ganondorf's army. As the entire horde filed past her she tried to stem the flow of blood from her many cuts. The horde healer saw Midnight and hurriedly ran to her. The healer expertly dabbed all of Midnight's cuts. The Dark Interlopers all ran off to their pre-determined tasks, most of them filing silently towards the northern gate. Nyx and Ganondorf entered the town last, they saw Midnight, her clothes soaked in blood, being bandaged by the healer. Nyx's face instantly took on a smug expression.

"I thought you would've kept a low profile." he said with a small smile.

"Who hurt you Midnight, I'll need to reward them." Nyx taunted.

Midnight ignored Nyx and said calmly "The only way to distract the guards and send an alert to the northern gate was to say that Dark Interloper spies had found me spying on them. I did this…" she held up the still bloody dagger, "…to make my story convincing." she finished.

Nyx grumbled as he saw the approving look on his master's face. "I'm going to see if the horde is doing their job." he grumbled as he walked off.

"You stay here and recover, then get outside of the town as quickly as you can. You will meet up with a few select Dark Interlopers, they will take you to an appointed place where you are too wait, the horde will be there as soon as their job is finished."

Midnight suppressed the question nagging her, _why?_ She nodded obediently as Ganondorf turned and walked calmly towards the castle.

Before the inner castle gates there was an enclosed shrine. Ganondorf entered, undetected, as his horde clashed around with the guards around him. He entered the shrine, which was plane and unadorned. The only thing that made this shrine a shrine was a single, small beam of light that shot from the ground and stopped abruptly at the ceiling. Ganondorf reached out a hand and touched the beam hesitantly, instantly his body seemed to dissolve into a mist and it was sucked into the beam of light. The beam of light immediately disappeared. Ganondorf materialized in a large room, its ceilings arching magnificently over him. The clear windows showed nothing outside of them, only a pale golden light. In the center of the octagonal room a pool of liquid gold shined. But, the pool of gold was not what Ganondorf was interested in, it was the large object hovering just above the pool; The Triforce!

Ganondorf walked slowly and reverently towards the powerful relic. As he approached the pool something unexpected happened. The figures of three women rose out of the gold. The one closest to Ganondorf had a sharp, aquiline face and long green hair that was braided. Several golden bracelets jangled as her hand raised to signal Ganondorf to stop. He obeyed, his eyes falling to the menacing bow and arrow set that she carried in her left hand. Her voice was clear and confident.

"Ganondorf, bearer of the Triforce of Power, the power is yours to take."

Was that it? Was that all that Farore was going to say? The woman on the right of Farore took a deep breath. Her long, red hair hung from her head in a sheet of fire. Her hands glowed red as she held them infront of her face. She examined them for a second and then lowered them. "The bearers of the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage have not been born yet, and they will not be born for a very long time. The Triforce was split the first time you summoned my power, thus, until the two who are destined to have it are killed, you cannot get all aspects of the Triforce." Din explained solemnly.

The last woman joined into the statements at this point. Her short, curly, blue hair framed her childlike face. Her blue eyes seemed to be all knowing pools, they were sad, but at the same time innocent of the horrible visions that she saw. "You shall not succeed in your current mission. But, I am to tell you that you shall never die until your mission is fulfilled. No matter how long it takes, your life is tied to the destiny of this blessed land of Hyrule. Along with the other two destinies, while they may die, their spirit shall live on. Until this land has run its course, you shall never die, and you shall have to do battle with the destinies of Wisdom and Courage in the end." Nayru closed her eyes and turned to face the Triforce. "Some may call it a 'Divine Prank' but it is more than that, it is Hyrule's destiny."

Farore turned around and grabbed one of the triangles that made up the Triforce. Then, she and that piece disappeared into the golden pool. Nayru grabbed another piece and followed Farore's example. Din turned and grabbed the final piece; she turned and handed it to Ganondorf solemnly. When Ganondorf's hand touched the most powerful piece of the Triforce both the relic and Din dissolved into a red mist, which entered Ganondorf's right hand. An image of the Triforce appeared on his hand, the top triangle of the image shined golden.

He may not have gotten the entire Triforce, but the main part was his, he had succeeded! The image faded from view, concealing the gift of the three goddesses. Footsteps were heard behind him and he turned around quickly to see who was there. The seven glowing sages had appeared in the shrine, none of them noticed the Triforce's absence, but they all instantly shot a beam of their power at Ganondorf, it instantly entangled him and he tried to use his own power to break free. The words of Nayru sprang into his ears. _You shall not succeed in this current mission._ He stopped struggling and let the sages close in on him. The sage of Time stood proudly next to his prisoner. "Ganondorf, your army has been foiled, we are taking them to the Mirror of Twilight, you shall not be joining them. You shall be banished in front of your horde into the spirit realm for all eternity."

"Your confident attitude is the thing that destroyed the pathetic humans you sent before yourselves." he replied smugly.

The sage ignored him and started walking towards the exit; the sages grabbed him and led him back to Hyrule. All smiling confidently that they had stopped Ganondorf before his plans had been put into full swing.

Only the sage of water glanced back to see the Triforce gone, he did not want to spoil the victory; so he kept quiet and let them lead the bearer of the Triforce of Power out into Hyrule.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Mirror

A colossal stone glistened in the evening light. Midnight had ridden with the selected group of Dark Interlopers to the specified place, and the sight took her breath away. Faint, archaic etchings glistened in the last rays of the sun; it seemed to sparkle in the light of the Twilight. The stone was pure black, and was elegantly suspended in mid-air by very large chains that were hooked sturdily to very tall pillars. There was one platform before the suspended stone, and it had a fragile looking, circular mirror placed delicately on a pedestal. Surrounding this strange area was a large coliseum-like building. Seven medallions were deeply carved into each of the pillars, and the symbol of the Triforce rested above each pillar. The sight was awe-inspiring, and Midnight instantly realized that this was the Mirror of Twilight. The Dark Interlopers started to turn to the side of the monument and each wordlessly started to climb up the coliseum like building. Midnight followed behind one that had signaled her to follow. After five minutes of climbing each of them arrived on platforms that were suspended at the same level as the top of the pillars. The man who she had followed helped her the last few feet of her climb and she safely arrived at the platform. She looked out over the vast desert, this place was about as big as the Spirit Temple, she knew the desert was vast, but not vast enough to hold two monumental structures that never see each other. The sky overhead had become a deep indigo, small specks of light twinkled and winked at Midnight. The stars seemed unnaturally closed, almost as if they were watching the events unfolding in Hyrule.

"Can you shoot an arrow?" the man asked suddenly.

Midnight shook her head. "Not with confidence, I was only practicing archery. I have not been very good at it."

"You will get well very soon then." he said, he grabbed a small pack and threw it down onto the ground. The package landed with a dull thud on the ground in front of the Mirror. He thrust a bow and a couple of arrows into her hands. "Start shooting at the package, you have to be able to shoot the Hylian who they are going to appoint as the leader of the Twilight."

Midnight gave him a quizzical look.

The man sighed, "Look, the first one to enter the Twilight Realm is the leader by default. As long as that persons' bloodline is not broken through the monarchy, the Twilight will be under that family's continual control. The Sages have appointed a friend of the Hylian King to be the ruler; you have to be able to shoot him."

"Why can't you do that?" she asked timidly.

"I can, and I will if you are not able to do it. Ganondorf wanted you to try though."

"What will happen after the man is killed?"

The man smiled. "The mirror is at least four feet from the ground, the mirror will make a portal between itself and that stone and you need to fall into that portal before anyone else can."

"That is how I will rule…" she stated, more to herself than to her informer.

"Yes, so I need you to start practicing, when you're out of arrows I will climb down and fetch them out of the package." he said with a yawn.

"Thank you." she said as she notched an arrow to the bowstring.

After a very frustrating night of continual sniping she had finally gotten the hang of shooting at the small package. Since the man was considerably larger than the package, it was only logical that he would be much easier to hit. She put down the bow and massaged her arms as the man recovered all the arrows and the package and started to make the long climb back up to the platform. When he arrived at the top he scanned the horizon quickly.

"They are coming." he stated flatly.

"Who?" Midnight asked, forgetting her pain for a moment.

He looked down at her and smiled, "Your new people."

Midnight's pain was replaced with anxiousness about the coming events, and she forgot about trying to rest before the most important moment in her entire life.

The seven sages led the defeated horde of enemies triumphantly to the Mirror of Twilight. The entire horde had been stunned by the site of their leader in chains, and they had instantly dropped their weapons. The sage of time was the first at the mirror; he placed a hand on it lovingly. He turned to the miserable looking horde and smiled cheerfully.

"You shall have a new home, an eternal prison: The Twilight Realm. This mirror is the only portal too it, and your new leader is a servant of the king." he explained as a large built man walked up to stand next to the sage.

The man was large, but his head seemed slightly too small for his body. The man nodded in recognition as the sage of water started to make his way towards them both. "My sirs," he said with a small bow "I think that Ganondorf has come to willingly, I think we should send off the King of Twilight now, before we banish Ganondorf. It's just a precautionary measure, but I think it would be the best."

The sage of time nodded, and turned to the man who was to become the king of the foreign realm. "Do you mind?"

The man shook his head and turned to face the mirror, he laid his hand on the surface of the fragile mirror, "Open!" he shouted.

The mirror started to glow with a light that wasn't exactly like light, it was darker than normal light, and it seemed to have blackness floating about freely inside of it. The light shot forward and hit the black stone, it shuddered and swayed in the impact. The stone's symbols started to glow, and it seemed to make a very long portal that sunk into the stone. The man took his hand off of the mirror and started to walk around the mirror, just before he reached the beam of light a single arrow seemed to grow out of his head. It took the onlookers several seconds to process the information, and before any of them could react in a better way something startling happened. A struggle was taking place on a platform above them. A tall man was holding a bow and a very small looking girl was tottering on the edge of the platform. The man pushed the girl roughly off of the edge, a gasp came from the crowd below. There was no scream or curse, but utter silence as she fell to the ground.

Midnight's eyes flickered open. The air bit at her unprotected skin. She sat up slowly, holding her head and trying to remember what had happened. Her eyes were closed in concentration when she remembered. She had been unable to shoot the man who was about to enter the twilight, and on top of that, she hadn't been able to find the courage to jump to what might've been her death. Her eyes flicked open and scanned her surroundings. The land around her was barren, except for a single portal behind her; it seemed to appear out of the sky, with nothing to mark where it was. A single castle-like structure broke the bleak appearance of the sky. The sky was a yellow tint, but it was so surrounded by black or purple-ish clouds that there was hardly any yellow. The air seemed slightly solid, and it was hard for her to move around. She felt like she was underwater, and her motions were slowed considerably. She noticed that there was a single path from the place she was to the castle; it was a thin, narrow strip of land. Beyond the borders of that path there was nothing. She tottered unsteadily over to the edge of platform she was on. She peered over the edge to see that there was nothing below her but the sky! Her head started to reel as she tried to run away from the edge, her eyes scanned the land and emptiness around her; she was alone. She flopped on to the ground, to scared to walk to the castle and to terrified to examine her surroundings any-more. The confused girl sobbed and covered her face in her hands.

After a while she heard someone thud onto the ground near her. She turned around to see Nyx, looking around at the new realm curiously. He looked a little disheveled, but there was something that was off about him other than his apparent tiredness.

"What happened?" she asked.

"A panic, the sages lost control over us and most took to their heels and fled. The loyal ones didn't leave though, I led the charge into the portal, and they should be here very soon." he explained briefly. "You are now the queen of this realm, and I the advisor."

Midnight buried her face in her hands again. "I don't want to rule this horrible land."

"Well, we won't be able to go back, I never knew any spells like the magic used to lock us away." he replied with a shrug.

More people followed, each of them had something wrong with them, but Midnight couldn't place it. She looked down at her own hands for the first time, they didn't look any different, except for one thing; they were blue. She examined her body to find that her skin had turned blue; there were a few black markings on her body and hands. It seemed that at least half of the people who had arrived were not changed much, other than the blue skin. The other half had changed considerably though, they were entirely black, their fingers had grown longer, and they seemed to be getting shorter by the minute. She stared, amazed at the transformation from human to monster taking place before her eyes.

"Ganondorf told me that some of us would stay in our human form, and others would turn into 'Twili'" he explained at everyone's puzzled and alarmed looks.

She got to her feet when it seemed that everyone who had come was there, which was a considerable amount. She turned towards the castle, and with Nyx towering over her, led the way towards the castle, and towards a new way of living for all those loyal to the darkness.

* * *

**End of Part 1, and thank you all for reading through the first 5 chapters. I know, I'm not the best writer, and I don't have the grammar skills I should have, but I thank you all for bearing with it. I love Zelda, and I love fanfictions. I can't thank everyone enough for reading and continued support from my friends and family as they follow the adventure as well. Also, thanks to my reviewers on here, if it weren't for the reviews I had on this site I probably wouldn't have continued to post on here. I'm glad that someone out there is reading and likes it enough to review. It completely makes my day when I open up my e-mail and find a review waiting. **

**Because I have been doing this fanfiction alot longer through E-mail with most of my (non-zelda-playing) friends, I have an additional five chapters already written. Next week, I will upload all of these chapters in one fell swoop so that I do not get confused on what chapter to submit to and which one to send to all my friends in e-mail. Just wanted to let you know. In fact, the reason I started writing Zelda fanfictions which are closely related to the games is that most of my friends don't play Zelda. I wrote these down so that I could talk about Zelda and they wouldn't be completely confused and lost in my rants. **

**So, anyway, Happy reading and writing to everyone out there! I like to get constructive critique on my work, so write a review if you feel compelled too. If you would like to contact me (and talk about Zelda, writing critique, or any suggestions on my fanfiction) than please use Skype, it's easier for me to keep in touch that way. My Skype name is "crystalskira" (without quotation marks) and if you do contact me through chat or "request contact" please mention somethingabout or "Twilight" or whatever. ****Otherwise, I might reject you...we wouldn't want that now would we? **

**Untill later chapters! **

**Groodle**


	6. Part 2, Chapter 1

**I would like to say that from now on, there is a Spoiler Warning for Twilight Princess. I do use in-game quotes alot, and since it is mostly the game novelized you will learn mostly everything. I leave out a few things, and add alot. When I get to the dungeon's I wont be describing them or how to do them. I'm mostly focusing on the story and the relationships.**

* * *

Part II: The Gloaming

Chapter 1: Treason

The dark clouds of twilight sparkled magnificently in the distance. A young woman stood on the balcony of the palace, her bare feet rubbing the floor slowly. She was at least seven feet tall and she had a very long neck, her body had the posture of a ruler. Her thin, shapely body was mostly exposed, with a top that seemed to meld into her skin. From her hips a long, flowing skirt fluttered in the wind. Her bare arms clenched the railing of the balcony and her beautiful, narrow face was upturned to the sky. Her blue skin shone in the light coming from the setting Sols. She wore a heavy crown, which her hair was intricately braided into. Her hair, which was a very odd color of orange, hung down and framed her face and neck.

A man of almost exactly the same appearance – except he wore baggy robes – walked up to her quietly. His arms encircled her from behind and he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"You look lovely." he whispered simply into her ear.

The woman's cat-like eyes flashed open, her purple eye-shadow contrasting dramatically with her yellow eyes. Her purple lips pursed into a small smile and she closed her eyes again. She broke free of the man's grasp and turned to face him. The fading light of the Sols made her crown, part of it which rested lightly upon her large forehead, glitter enticingly. "I didn't know that you were back." her sultry voice stated.

"I wanted to surprise you." the man said as he smiled, showing a row of pointed teeth.

She smiled and threw her arms around the man's shoulders, which were heavily protected with coils of metal. She looked up at him, "I missed you."

"I would certainly hope so." he said cheerfully.

Their lips met in a small kiss and she hurriedly turned away. The man had a strange sensation seem to pour over him, it was a sense of both attraction for the woman who now stood staring concernedly into his face, and one of utter loathing for the same being.

"Is something wrong?" she asked worriedly.

The man re-arranged his face to a look of pleasure quickly. "No, nothing's wrong."

She looked suspiciously at him for a moment longer and turned to face the Twilight. "How did your trip go?" she asked.

"It went fine," he said as he came up beside her. "Although, you are not very popular with the noblemen anymore." he added thoughtfully.

"Why?" she asked.

The man sighed and rolled his eyes. "Midna, you know perfectly well _why_ every Twili is grumbling against you."

Her eyes flashed in slight annoyance. "And do you grumble about my decisions as well?"

"No, of course not." he said apologetically.

"Liar." Midna said coldly.

The man looked taken aback. "Midna, I don't know what you mean."

"You hate me as much as my people do." she said bitterly.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "That's not true." he lied.

"I'm only doing what's right for my people." she sobbed defensively.

"I know that, but maybe your decision to keep the Twili here in this realm is a bad decision." he consoled.

"It isn't!" she shouted. "Why do we hate the Twilight so much, why can't we learn to live in this world in contentment?"

"Because this is not where we belong…"

"Yes it is, we are Twili now we cannot go back to the world of Light!" she explained.

"The opposing party does not _want_ to go back so they can live. They want to go back to take vengeance upon the light dwellers."

"Why?" she asked, still sobbing.

"Because that is what we are meant to do."

"How do you know?" she asked as she pulled away from the man. "You agree with them! How do I know you're not just manipulating me?" she accused.

"The writings of my ancestor have told me that the reason we were put here was so that we could one day go back and fight." the man explained calmly.

"Well the writings of the first queen have told me that the reason we were put here was because we were following someone who was a danger to all mankind!" she added.

The man sighed. "Our ancestors were of opposing views, but maybe it is time you give in to the majority. The Twili are finally strong enough to raise an army." he suggested.

The woman sighed and looked out over her strange land. "Maybe…" she whispered. Then she started up and looked at him. "Can it wait?"

The man looked at her quizzically.

"Can my decision about the Twili army wait until after the wedding?" she asked.

The man tried to force his mouth into a smile, and failed miserably. "Of course it can, but if that's the case I will have to go and talk to the noblemen once again to tell them that you are considering their case." he said.

The woman looked down at her thin fingers. "Ok, you can go."

"I'll see you in three days." he said, inclining his head in a farewell gesture. He started to walk out as quickly as the situation would allow.

"Zant?" she asked as he was about to round a corner.

The man looked around, slightly annoyed.

"Be careful, I know the noblemen don't approve of me."

"I will." he said.

"I love you." she added as he walked off.

No reply came.

Midna sighed and turned to walk back inside. Her eyes traced the ground as she thought about everything that was happening to her. She wandered throughout the castle, ignoring the stares of her worried attendants. She waved them off when they tried to guide her to a certain room. She opened to door to her bedroom and plopped onto her soft, luxurious bed. Her crown clattered loudly around her head as she rolled over onto her stomach. She grabbed a small bell and rung in. A woman popped her head in the door.

"Yes?" she asked timidly.

"Sidra?" Midna asked.

The woman walked into the room. "What is it you wish." she said with a bow.

"Take this crown off please, I do not need to be a queen until tomorrow." she said gloomily.

The woman caressed Midna's face and played with her hair as she was taking off the crown, delicately making sure each strand of hair was in place. Midna's face was bent low, pouring over ancient manuscripts.

"Why do you read those, you must have read them each at least ten times." the attendant said.

"I need to know what happened." she stated tiredly.

"But you know everything that happened!"

"I don't. She doesn't say everything, all I get are vague clues." she said in a distressed tone.

"Maybe you need some new manuscripts." Sidra suggested.

Midna started up, her hair having just been completed. "That's it, I need the manuscript that Zant has. If the stories are true, and that both me and Zant are direct descendants from the first queen and advisor…" she faded off as she ran out of the room.

Midna opened the door to her advisors room hesitantly. She thought it was odd that she was searching the room of her soon-to-be-husband. She shook the thought away and entered the room, heading directly for the desk. She lit a small candle and started to rifle through the pages on his desk. It only took her a few moments to find the manuscripts she was looking for; the writings of the first royal advisor, Nyx. She started to scan the pages; she knew most of the transactions, and everything technical in all of these old journals. She looked for a clue to the strange being that her ancestor, Midnight, had hinted too. She scanned the pages looking for an unfamiliar name, she found nothing. What she did find was something that shocked her more than anything else she had ever read. Hate speech! Strewn throughout the facts about the days and the arguments and disagreements between nobles and common Twili was messages of utter loathing towards Midnight and her descendants. Her hands shook as she read the dreadful words and her eyes closed. She knew the Twili were full of hate, but she had never encountered something as powerful as this man's hatred. She picked up one of Zant's own written papers and glanced at it. She read through it several times, she checked and re-checked the name. It was Zant's writing, it was his name, and the words on the page were filled with plans on how to assassinate her! She dropped the page and shook her head.

"This cannot be the Zant I know." she said to the pages. "This is wrong, things have changed. He would never kill me, he loves me." she said, trying to calm herself down.

A sound of metal coming out of a sheath broke her rapid-fire realizations. She looked at the open door to see Zant framed in it. A dagger was clenched in one of his hands and the other hung limply at his side. Midna stood up, trying to act calm.

"What did you read?" he asked coldly, his eyes burning with the hatred of the pages she had just read.

"N-nothing." she said. "I was just looking for some certain records that the advisors keep."

Zant advanced towards her, the dagger rose. His pointed teeth glittered in a hideous smile, "You have already changed your will so that your power will be transferred to me…" he said, still advancing.

"Zant, please…This is treason!" she said nervously as she backed away.

"It isn't treason—it's justice!" Zant raised the dagger higher, about to bring it down on the queen.

Midna crossed hands in a strange way, a black ball of matter appeared. It grew so quickly that as the dagger came down; it was deflected away from her and clanged to the floor. Midna then released her arms from the strange position and seemed to fling them out towards Zant.

Zant felt a powerful wall of darkness push him back to his bedroom wall. He staggered against the crushing weight of the dark matter, stunned. He heard Midna scream loudly and for a very long time. Suddenly, the dark matter dissipated, and Zant found himself at the tip of five spear points.


	7. Part 2, Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Lares

Zant sat haughtily in the filthy prison cell he had been thrown into. He ignored the growling of his stomach and gritted his teeth slightly as he thought about his life's plan. He had always thought that he was destined to rule the Twilight; he wanted to honor his ancestor. He wanted to do what he could to help the Twilight, and he wanted to destroy the dwellers of light. That was what they had been commanded to do. His eyes searched frantically around the cell, he had made up his mind; he was not going to be executed by the "Do-Nothing Royal Family." He heard guards coming down the passageway and smiled. He got up slowly and walked cautiously to the door, hiding just out of site of the guards.

Zareb walked his men down the dank passageway towards the traitor's cell. His three men all had spears, and several swords. Zareb himself held clattering chains that would bind their prisoner. Zant's trial was today, and every one of the men was on edge at having to transport a treasonous and slightly insane man. They arrived at the heavily locked door to Zant's cell, Zareb held his ear to the door. The chief guard nodded and started to unlock the locks. He walked in bravely, his men following close behind. They expected to see Zant, complacently sitting on the floor. Zareb started to get the strange feeling of being watched, he turned around quickly to stare into the maniacal eyes of Zant. He shouted in alarm, but too late, Zant punched him squarely in the nose. Zareb saw stars and let go of the chains he had been holding. Zant grabbed them and started to hit the other guards! The guards raised their spears in defense; two of the guards threw their spears at Zant, hoping to stop his mad frenzy. Zant raised his clawed hand, a dark force seemed to shoot out of his hand, and it deflected the spears. The two spear throwers were bludgeoned into unconsciousness at an unnaturally frightening speed. The last guard looked at Zareb, laying on the ground, and his two fellow guards. The guard turned and ran towards the open door to the cell; he started to shout the alarm. He made it out of the cell and ran as fast as he could towards the exit, but he tripped on the first stair, clattering to the ground. He shouted for help again, but his scream was muffled by two clawed hands as they wrapped around his skull. The hands gripped and started to tighten. The innocent guard's eyes opened wide, his head started to feel as though it would pop, and his lungs burned for life giving air. He started to struggle, but his limbs soon went limp. Zant let go of the dead guard and stepped distastefully over the body.

Midna sat on her throne, her hair fell over her soft, tear-stained face. She had cried throughout the last few days, and it felt like she needed to cry more, but there were no more tears. Her elbow rested against one of the armrests and her head rested in her supported hand. Her tired eyes watched the executioner check the time and pace the floor nervously.

"They have not reported, I do not think all things go well." the executioner said in explanation.

Midna nodded and got up slowly from her chair. "You must make sure that all is as it should be. You must go to the prison and bring Zant here."

The man nodded and ran out to do the Queen's bidding.

Ten minutes later, an alarm was sounded: Zant had escaped. Midna walked calmly out into the courtyard of the castle, it was eerily silent. Every guard had been sent to search the surrounding area. She heard the noise of the castle door closing ominously. She turned around to see the fugitive. Tears which she did not think she had welled up in her eyes. The man she once loved looked like he was crazy, his eyes were bloodshot and he cackled evilly when he saw her. He advanced upon her quickly, but Midna held firm. She stared down her nose with an imperial gaze.

"Why are you here?" she asked, trying not to let her voice crack.

"I should be the ruler of this land." Zant hissed angrily. "I am the one with the true power, I am the one with true vision for this land."

"I have a vision for a peaceful existence a—"

"You have a vision for a 'Half Existence!'" he screamed.

His hands snaked his way up towards her long neck. He grabbed and dragged her down so that she was kneeling. She tried to struggle, but Zant's insanity had given him unnatural strength. "You and your family have stolen the power from my bloodline." he screamed in anger. Suddenly, his voice grew to be a low growl. "My life's work is now nothing because of you. If me life and reputation has been destroyed, then I will obliterate your existence!" he started to tighten his grip upon her neck.

Midna let out a strangled plea, "Please, your life has not been the only one that has been destroyed." she sobbed.

Zant's only response was to tighten his grip. Midna started to see darkness in the corners of her vision, and Zant's eyes were the only discernable in her hazy vision. In one last effort she reached out her hand and touched her attacker, a large force of power exited her arm and hit Zant. He released his grip and fell back a few feet.

"I have more power than you do." she said through her coughs and gasps.

Zant sprang up and charged at his enemy, "My family shall get justice!" he screeched.

Midna knew that any counter attack would be useless; she was too weak from lack of air. She put a protective force about her, and collapsed. The power was sapping her energy, but she would live.

When Zant saw Midna make a protective force, he cursed loudly. A clang of spears came from the closed entrance to the castle. He glanced behind him once and then started to run to the nearest balcony. He ran to the barrier protecting the inhabitants from the empty space of the twilight. He peered over the edge into the endless empty space. The door rattled behind him, and shouts of alarm sounded.

There was no place to go.

Zant sank down to his knees, and looked at his hands. He raised his eyes to the sky.

"Why?" he screamed at the purple clouds of Twilight. "Why did you give me this task? Why do I not have the power to do it? Why has my entire life been destroyed? Whoever is out there, if you love the Twilight, then make me able to rule it!"His head bowed in sadness. "Please…Why is it all happening?" His hand clenched into a fist, his fist beat the ground to punctuate every word. "I love the Twilight, and if it is to continue, then _I_ must rule it! If there is a god out there, like the one my ancestor Nyx believed in, then grant me the power now, grant me the power to rule!" he continued to repeat his last words as the guards broke open the door. Zant's anger and hatred seemed to call out for him, across the wide expanse of Twilight. He repeated his mantra out loud as the guards advanced cautiously towards him.

The guards advanced on him cautiously. "Zant…" one of them called.

The possessed man turned his head slightly so that half of his face was visible to the guards. He did not stop repeating his mantra of hatred and the call for a "god" to come and rescue him. One of the more courageous guards advanced towards him. Zant quickly rose up and faced them, he did not stop speaking, but his body was tense, like a cat waiting to pounce. The other guards ran up to be with their fellow, and they started to advance.

"I will Rule." he hissed.

A huge explosion shattered the eerie scene. Zant was thrown to the ground, and the guards dropped their spears in fear. Zant rolled over to see what had caused the explosion. A huge ball of darkness had gathered at the edge of the balcony. It was approaching Zant's feet alarmingly quick. He tried to scramble out of the way, but the darkness covered him up, and as suddenly as it had appeared it disappeared.

Darkness surrounded Zant. He could see himself, but nothing else. He seemed to be floating in the darkness, and it took him a few minutes to get adjusted to the sudden change. He felt like he was being supported inside the darkness by his hatred, but his anger soon subsided. His eyes glanced fearfully around this strange new place. His limbs shook with nervous energy and fear as he got to his feet cautiously.

"You called?" a booming voice asked, the voice had a hint of smugness.

Zant covered his ears at the loud sound; he started to turn around in circles nervously. "W-Who are you?"

"Your god." the voice said simply.

"W-where am I?"

"Tell me, Zant, what is it that you want most of all?" the voice said, still unbearably loud.

"H-how do you k-know my name?" Zant stuttered.

"Does it really matter? Tell me, what is it that you desire most?" the voice pressed.

Zant looked around nervously and started to fidget with his hands, the silence was unbearable.

"Answer me!" the voice boomed angrily.

Zant fell to his knees, shocked by the power the voice seemed to wield. He closed his eyes and covered his hands. "I-I only want to do what is right for the Twilight, I want revenge, and most of all…" he stopped and considered what he really did want, "…I want power."

The darkness was broken by a solitary figure, it towered above Zant. Its face was obscured, by what seemed to be golden flames, and its body seemed to be un-solid. It reached down and touched Zant on the forehead.

"I shall house my power in you…And if there is anything you desire, then I shall desire it, too." the figure then disappeared.

A small pedestal appeared in the figure's place. Resting upon it was a strange contraption that looked like a helmet. Two sightless eyes peered at Zant, and the open mouth had an unsightly tongue that cascaded to hide the mouth of the wearer. It folded back to reveal a place to put his own head in.

"Put it on." a voice inside his head commanded.

Zant recognized the voice; it was the booming voice of the figure. He obeyed the voice without question. The helmet fitted comfortably on his head and closed around it, instead of seeing anything with tunnel vision, with a strange power he could see everything like there was nothing blocking his point of view.

"Now, go and take revenge upon the pathetic fool who rules the Twilight."

Zant smiled and de-materialized.


	8. Part 2, Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Descent

Midna's small shield disappeared, she was exhausted. The guards who had tried to attack Zant stood over her protectively. She sat up slowly and rubbed her head.

"Where is Zant." she asked.

The guards said nothing; they only shrugged and looked around nervously.

She stood up painfully slow; she planted her feet wide apart and steadied herself. "What happened?"

"H-he…he disappeared!" one of the guards said, still in shock.

"How?"

"A large ball of darkness came…and…swallowed him up." another guard replied.

"And he has not returned?"

"No," they all asserted.

Midna turned around and started to walk back to the palace. "I do not think he will bother us again, he has been defeat—"

The clank of armor interrupted her word. "I think not, princess." a voice from behind her hissed.

The entire group turned on their heels to see who had spoken. "Zant?" Midna asked tentatively.

The helmeted man waved his hand in passing and the guards all fell over instantly. Midna gasped but stood her ground. Zant advanced towards her slowly, almost teasingly. He had grown in the few minutes he had been away from the realm of twilight, and he now towered over Midna. As he came close to her she started to back away, her hands were raised protectively in front of her.

"You no longer rule." he said with a deft flick of his arm.

A wave of power swept over Midna and she fell to the ground. It hadn't hurt, she grunted and tried to get up, but her body felt strange. She got onto her knees, noticing that she was shorter than she usually was, and looked down at her hands. They were long claws. She gasped in horror and touched her new hands to her face. She felt a small, plump face. The figure laughed cruelly, "I will not kill you, I want you to see what will happen once both the light world and this world are as one." he said mockingly.

Midna was still in disbelief that she had been cursed.

"No one can take the curse away either, other than myself." he added as he turned and walked away.

A trumpet sounded, it meant that there was a new leader.

Three days later, Zant had successfully won over the skeptics of his rule. He had also begun a military recruit of all eligible Twili, they were preparing for war. Midna had become a laughing stock of the entire realm, everyone ridiculed her, and she had escaped into an exile of sorts. She sat, unmoving, at the edge of one of the smaller areas of land. She gazed down into the abyss.

"Zant calls himself the King, but he will never be the true ruler." she said to the nothingness. Her claw-like fingers traced a brightly glowing tattoo on her leg. "These symbols are the things that distinguish the true leaders from the pretenders." she mumbled reassuringly. "If I do not take back my country…something horrible will happen." she let out a dry sob.

A single thought flickered into her mind, she perked up. She smiled evilly, yes, her plan would be brilliant. Why not destroy Zant with the very power he wished to wield?

A trumpet interrupted her plotting; it was the call to war. She sprung up quickly and dove out of several Twili's line of sight. She looked towards the castle to see the usurper command the armies to head towards the only known entrance into the realm of light. This was her chance! She kept her head bowed and started towards the castle, keeping as low to the ground as she could. Everyone had their eyes on their ambitious leader, and Midna was able to get to the backside of the castle with ease. She looked up at a high open window, she concentrated on it. She closed her eyes, and she felt herself gliding upwards. Before she knew it, she was inside the window, looking down onto a large room. She dropped down easily, her cursed form did have the benefit of floating and being inconspicuous for the most part. She easily maneuvered through the castle, she couldn't believe her luck. She entered into a small room that held a single box. She ran to the box and opened it quickly, inside was something that she had hoped she would never have to use. A single, helmet-like piece of stone sat on a plush surface. It was shaped like a woman's head with a crown, but half of the face was torn away, it only covered one eye and the top of the face. A small, handwritten note sat next to it.

_With the power of the beast, the fused shadows shall rescue the Twilight. Ordona, Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru shall guide you._

The words didn't make sense to her, she knew that the names were the names of some of the provinces in the realm of light, but she knew that she needed this stone figure. She picked it up, it started to glow blue. She placed it on her head, it fit perfectly, covering one eye.

"I must collect the other pieces, it is the only way I will be able to destroy Zant and save my world." she murmured as she started to exit the room.

She already felt the power of the fused shadow coursing through her veins; she walked with more confidence out of the castle only to see Zant walking through the portal to the other world.

The bright sunlight clawed at the sensitive eyes and flesh of the invaders. They all cowered in fear before the massive, black obelisk. It was encased in iron chains, and it was slightly suspended in the air. It rocked back and forth like a giant pendulum as the searing hot desert winds tore through the dilapidated ruins. Zant appeared unaffected by the harsh sunlight as he swept before his large horde. He turned to face the large stone. He flicked his arm lazily and it crashed into the sand. The pillars that had been supporting the large stone seemed to sink into the white sand. Out of the ground a statue of a lovely woman appeared, a snake coiled sinisterly around her sensuous curves. Her face was expressionless, and she had a very large platform at the top of her head. The snakes head seemed to rest upon the large platform, and it towered menacingly over the mass of Twili. They all stared, dumfounded, at the statue until a loud, unnatural scream came from their leader. It sounded like a mix between a snake's hiss and the scream of a wild boar. They all swiveled to see their leader beckoning to them, his voice seemed amplified by the helmet which protected him from the sun.

"This is the land that we have come from. Why have we come back?" he asked the crowd.

"To Destroy!" was the reply that echoed eerily around the grounds.

"Who shall we destroy?"

"All Light Dwellers!"

An unseen smile played about the features of Zant. He turned and started to walk out of the ruins. His horde obediently followed him. "To Lanayru!" he screeched.

The horde screamed in reply. The starved Twili were finally about to taste their first morsel of revenge.

A young, woman-like creature sat on a choral throne. Her green eyes shone with defiance as she saw the first Twili begin to enter into her domain. She raised a webbed hand and played absently with a weed-like strand of hair. Her soldiers looked at her nervously, some in and some out of the watery sanctuary. The creature was eight feet long, mostly fish. Her long tail trailed in the water flowing from under her throne. She adjusted herself and cleared her throat, her jewelry clanking as she prepared to speak to her subjects. Her red and blue skin was more pallid than usual.

"Who is the fastest here." she said with a voice that sounded like thousands of crystal raindrops falling into a deep puddle.

A young boy by her side raised his hand eagerly. His face was studded exotically with small pieces of diamond, and he had a long tail sprouting from the back of his head. His feet, unlike his mothers, were human like, but webbed. "I am the fastest, mother." he said quickly.

She looked down at her boy and smiled fondly. "You have never been to Hyrule though."

"It is easy, the path is well marked. Please, let me go." he begged.

She studied the water, looking for an easy answer. "You can go, but go quickly. I need you to tell the Queen that Hyrule is under attack. Also tell her that they are starting at the water source for most of Hyrule." she said with a sigh. "Go quickly, Ralis, and do not come back until these foes have been vanquished.

The boy nodded and splashed into the water, swimming gracefully down the waterfall and into Zora's Domain. The queen looked sadly as her only son swam speedily past the invading Twili and into the secret path that led to Hyrule Castle.

A soldier swam up to her throne and bowed his head respectfully. "Ruleta, we have tried attacking the invaders, but our weapons seem to be impervious."

Ruleta nodded. "Hold them off as long as you can…" she said sadly.

Midna followed close behind Zant's group, and she saw first-hand the brave stand that the Zora soldiers gave. But all was to no avail, after the Zora's were reduced to but cowering and skittering fish, he traveled down the river. Midna wondered if Zant had a plan behind his attack, she saw a group of Twili break away, probably to find that young Zora who had escaped. She did not concern herself with the plight of the light dwellers; she had to know what Zant was doing. After a day journey down the river, they came to a massive lake. Most Twili were still nervous about the water, but they braved it as their leader directed. They came upon what seemed to be a large shrine. Zant signaled his horde to wait outside the shrine and entered alone. Midna cursed, she knew that she would never be able to see what Zant was up too.

She hid out of earshot of the horde. "Where should I go if I don't know what Zant is doing?" she asked herself. "Should I go to Ordon province, the first province listed on that piece of paper…? Or maybe I should go to the castle…" she stopped and looked down at the ground. "How can I fight him? I don't even know what he plans to d—" a strange scream emanated from the shrine. She looked around and saw something that was very familiar. The light of Twilight started to spread from the shrine like a dark mist. Zant exited the shrine, the Twilight spread as fast as a ravenous beast. Behind him scurried ten unnaturally large bugs, they burrowed out of sight the moment they saw the horde.

"We shall show them how it is like to live in Twilight. Without their precious protectors they shall be only spirits!" he said with an evil laugh.

The horde cheered as they embraced the darkness of the twilight, their home.

Midna gasped, in the realization. "Zant wants to spread the Twilight and destroy the light…" she whispered to herself. She turned her eyes away from the now moving horde, "I must wait until his wrath has subsided. Then, I will strike.

Zant seemed to have done everything quickly and efficiently. He had humiliated and discouraged his enemy Midna, and the Zora people had put up little resistance. He had become very powerful with the help of his god, all of Hyrule seemed not only able, but willing to bow at only the slightest threat. Zant almost laughed at how easy it was to take over the castle, Hyrule had lived in peace for many years, and the soldiers were unprepared and weak in fighting. After only two days, he had sent almost every province into Twilight; the only provinces that remained were small, unimportant ones that were isolated from much of Hyrule. Zant walked confidently up the large steps towards the throne room of the queen of Hyrule, he was no longer the weak and pathetic Twili advisor with impossible ambitions; his god had changed that.

He summoned a large, black cloud and pushed it forcefully into the doors, bursting the throne room open. It enshrouded half of the force that had been waiting for an attack. Beasts scurried in the dark cloud and attacked the disoriented guards quickly. Soon, the creatures sprang out of the cloud and attacked the frightened onlookers. Several were spared, but held at sword point, ready to be skewered. Zant walked calmly towards the large throne in the center of the room, two creatures flanking him protectively. He put one foot on the stairs leading up to the throne, he saw the queen of Hyrule. She was young and mostly plain in her dress. She wore no adornments, and the only thing that showed that she was royalty was a small circlet she wore on top of her golden hair. Her grey eyes showed fear, and he knew that she was a queen of peace, not of war. A sword was in her right hand, and the tip of it quivered pathetically.

"This is what the once brave blood has been reduced to?" he asked, he had said it on impulse not knowing what he had said.

The girl bit her lip and said nothing, she looked visibly shaken though.

"Even so, it is time for you to chose: Surrender of die?"

The queen glanced at the struggling guards, one of them started to cry and sob about his family. Her mind flashed back to her ancient ancestors who would be shamed if they knew how much of a coward she was. She tried to hold back tears and look strong before this dangerous foreigner.

"Oh yes, a question for all the land and people of Hyrule… Life? Or death?!"

The guards looked towards their leader, silently pleading for her to choose life. Hyrule hadn't seen war in a long time, and they all loved life too much to see themselves die for their country. Hyrule hadn't needed men _that_ loyal for at least two-hundred years. The queen visibly sniffed and dropped the sword she held with a loud clang.

Zant smiled and flicked his hand, every guard dropped dead. He pointed at the petrified queen. "Kill—" his command was stopped abruptly. A single emotion seemed to emanate from his god; the emotion was anger directed at Zant. A low growl interrupted Zant's confusion. "You are not to kill her." Zant ignored the puzzled thoughts buzzing around in his brain enough to look at the guards. "Imprison her." he said brusquely.

The queen was led roughly away, and Zant flopped onto the chair lazily. Hyrule was—at last—his.


	9. Part 2, Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Glimmer

Midna cautiously made her way across the windswept rooftops of the gloomy castle. The wind clawed at her small figure, threatening to throw her off. Rain sprinkled lightly onto her bare skin as she shivered involuntarily. The sound of leathery wings came up quickly behind her. A gust of wind came from the source of the noise and threw her to the ground. She looked over her shoulder to see a large monster standing over her. It looked somewhat like a cross between a Keese and a Falcon. Its body was larger than both animals, and it was scaled like a snake. It's pure black body flexed as it prepared to attack. The creature had no face, only a hole in which the runes of the Twili people could be seen. Midna raised her hand and shot forth a beam of power into the creature. It stumbled back and flapped away, cheated of a good meal.

"Poor soul…" Midna said quietly as she started to continue on her journey. "They are caught by the traps of greed that Zant has laid for his 'people.'"

She continued on her journey for a few minutes. Her tired body leaned against the grate of a small tower window. The wind was blocked by the stone, and she got a small respite. A pale hand reached through the intricately molded grate and touched Midna on the shoulder. Midna turned her head slightly so one of her eyes saw the person.

"Who are you?" the figure asked.

"I'm a friend." Midna panted.

The figure came closer to the window, so that the cloaked face was twilit. "How can one of _your_ kind be a friend?" the female voice asked bitterly.

"I am not with Zant; I am here to help you."

The cloaked figure retreated into the darkness. Midna sighed and turned to face the window. Her clawed hands grasped the window grate weakly. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the grate. She melted through the grate and materialized in the dark room. The figure removed the hood of her cloak and lit a candle on a small wooden desk. She looked over her intruder.

"I do not need help." she said bitterly.

Midna did not answer, but she bowed respectfully. "Princess Zelda, I need to give you information."

Zelda brightened up considerably at the announcement. She walked over to Midna and leaned down. Her hands grabbed Midna's shoulders and straightened her. Her grey eyes met Midna's exotically colored ones. "What do you need to tell me?"

Midna handed her a small scrap of paper, the one that she had taken from the chest in the palace. "This was written by my ancestor, I think it will be beneficial to you."

Zelda took the paper and studied it for a few seconds. "These are the names of the light spirits. These are the victims of Zant's plan, they have been destroyed. I do not think they can help us."

Midna looked up rebelliously. "There are still some provinces which have not become part of the Twilight!" she shouted.

Zelda held up a finger to shush the angry Twili. "Yes, but the only one not destroyed on this list is Ordona."

"Do you know what 'the beast' is?" she asked.

Zelda shook her head sadly. "Thank you for coming to see me, but I do not think this information can help."

Midna looked down at the floor and sniffed. "There must be _something_ I can do."

Zelda looked up at the ceiling, wondering if an answer would magically appear there. She sighed and made an odd clicking noise with her tongue. "You should go to Ordon Province, if Ordona really can help, that would be our only lead." she finally announced.

Midna looked up into Zelda's flawless face. "I will then, but I may not be able to get out of the Twilight. Zant has put up so many barriers."

"Then wait, if this information is true then we will find the beast around there. Even if Ordona is destroyed you can still contact him. He will still have many remnants around the spirit spring. Talk to him if you can."

"If I cannot, I will wait for the beast." Midna added dutifully.

Zelda smiled at the child-like creature. "It looks like we do have a glimmer of hope. Thank you." she kneeled down and came level to Midna. "What is your name?"

"Midna."

"Midna is a very nice name, it sounds familiar." she said thoughtfully.

"You've probably heard Zant yelling about me." Midna said, turning around and stretching carelessly.

Zelda thought for a few moments. "Yes, that _is_ where I heard your name. Why is he looking for you?"

Midna sighed, "It's a long story."

Zelda nodded her head knowingly. "Thank you for your service Midna, Hyrule will remember you."

Midna melted through the grate of the window; she turned around to face Zelda. "Don't thank me yet, I haven't even tried." she said with a wink.

Zelda smiled and sat down on a ridged, rickety chair. "Good luck, Midna."

The soothing sound of running water swirled around the evening spring. A young woman scooped up a handful of water and splashed it playfully onto a brown horse. The horse whinnied in appreciation and stomped it's feet playfully. She smiled and sloshed gracefully through the knee-high water towards the horse. She put a delicately manicured hand on the horse's muzzle. The evening light glittered on a small ring on her finger. She smiled and looked into the horses eyes. "Soon, I'll be more than just the mayor's daughter…" she cooed softly.

The horse looked understandingly into her eyes and nudged her. The evening made the horse's main, and her own hair, seem aglow with a heavenly light.

"Illia?" a man's voice called softly.

The girl turned around swiftly to see a man. He was humbly dressed, and he looked down into the water shyly. He had brown hair with a tint of a golden glow behind it. His face was pleasant as he looked into her lovely green eyes. His blue eyes seemed to lose any hardness they had at the very sight of her. He self-consciously fingered his ring.

"Oh, hi, Link." she said with a surprised smile.

He smiled back at her, "I need my horse."

"I was just washing her down for you, I hope you don't mind."

He shook his head, "Not at all. Thank you for taking good care of her."

"Epona really loves you, Link." the girl stated softly. "Are you leaving?" she asked suddenly.

Link looked taken aback. "Leaving?"

"Yes, leaving. My father told me about Rusl's gift to the Hylian family. Are you delivering it?"

A look of remembrance passed over his face. "Yes, in two days."

The girl looked worried. "And, you will be coming back, right?"

"Of course," he said in a slightly puzzled tone.

"You won't run off with some young fair Hylian town girl?"

The man laughed. "Of course not, Illia, you know I'd never do that."

She looked into his eyes. "I just have to make sure. When you come back, are you going to ask my father?" she said with a shy smile.

"Yes, but he already consents." the man said with a laugh. "He's been begging me to take you off his hands for a while now."

The girl joined in his laughter. "I can't see the reason why!" she said sarcastically.

Link came over and grabbed his horse's reigns. "I have to go now." he said sadly.

"I won't keep you any longer." she said as she backed away from the massive creature. "Take care, I love you." she called as he got onto the saddle.

He smiled down at her, "I love you too."

Two days later Illia was pacing nervously on the front porch of her spacious cottage. The mayor's home was slightly bigger than the others in the village, but not very much. Link had run off yesterday evening several of the other men had gone with him, even her father. When they returned dirty, hungry, and exhausted, she had pressed her father for information. He refused to tell her, saying it wasn't a woman's business to know. "It was probably only another raiding party of those unusually large monkeys that attacked now and again" she had reasoned. That morning she was mainly worried about Link, Hyrule was a vast land, and he was going to see most of it on his journey. She was worried about his wellbeing. He was probably still recovering from last night's excursion. She was worried that when he came back he would be a changed man. Ordon village was a small, homely farming village, it wasn't very rich. Her and Link were both around the same age, and they had never left the boundaries of Faron Province. They used to sit on the edge of the province and daydream about what life was like outside of their own little woods, but they never talked about actually leaving. Her worried mind flashed through all possible scenarios of horror as she paced. A sob caught in her throat as she leaned against the railing.

"You're nervous about something." her father said, walking sleepily out of the door.

"Yes, I'm worried." she snapped.

"About what?"

"I'm worried about Link, who else?"

The man nodded sagely.

"That and the weather has changed for the worse."

The mayor looked at her surprised. "You've never been one to notice the weather."

"Not until the man I love was going out into it. Besides, it's not like regular weather…" she paused, and thought for a while. "It's more like some sort of foul smelling wind. It's just a feeling." she concluded sadly.

"No need to be worried, he'll be back in a week." the mayor said cheerfully. "Here he comes now, go and say goodbye to him." he added, pointing towards the large road that led to the livestock pens.

Illia ran into the street and waved at Link. Link waved back and smiled at her. Illia glanced at her father and gave a nervous giggle and then she took off towards the horse. The mayor followed slowly after her, one eyebrow raised in bemusement. Illia met Link and tugged one of his hands away from the reigns of the horse. She closed her hand around it and walked along happily beside him. He smiled and looked down at her as they came up on the mayor. He stood to the side of the path, yawning.

"Oh, done herding for the day, Link? Well, nice work…You're done five hours early." he joked.

Link got off of his horse and ran over to the Mayor. The mayor put his hand on the young man's shoulder and led him off to the side of the road; he turned his back to Illia. He glanced over at his daughter nervously and then started to speak. Illia, unaware of her father's words, stroked the horse lovingly.

"The royal gift Rusl told you about is ready, so you should get ready for the trip to Hyrule Castle. Now, the Royal Family requested this gift specifically, so it's really special. It'd be…bad…if the representative of Ordon were to be late for such an occasion, you get me, lad?"

Link nodded.

"The path before you is a long one, my sweet horse…but please bear Link safely along it!" Illia pleaded as she stroked the horse down until she reached its leg. "Wait…What's this?" she asked in shock.

The two men turned around to look at her. She turned around angrily to face them. "What's happened? She's injured, isn't she?"

Link winced.

"Link, how could you! You were pushing Epona too hard again! I bet you hurt her leg jumping those fences, didn't you?" she accused, stepping forward threateningly.

"Now, now, Illia. There's no need to get so hot with him…"

"Father!" she shouted indignantly, turning on him. "How could you be so easy on him? You're the _Mayor_ for Din's sake, start acting like one!" she turned to the horse lovingly. "You poor thing… It'll be all right Epona. I'll take you to the spirit spring right now. Once we sooth you in the spring, you'll feel better in no time!" she said leading the horse away. She completely ignored the two dumbfounded men beside her.

"W-Wait, Illia! Why, without Epona the gift won't get delivered in time!"

She stuck her nose up into the air and carried on her way. The two men looked at each other in shock.

"Is she _always _this stubborn?" Link asked as he started to run towards her. "Illia! I need the horse!"

Link stepped into a clearing beside his house. There was a small path that led to the spirit spring, he planned to take it and talk Illia into letting him have the horse back. Four children loitered around his house. Three were boys, but one was a sullen looking girl who leaned nonchalantly against a tree. She glanced over at him with distinguished disinterest and sighed. The three boys were gathered at the beginning of the path to the spirit spring. The tallest boy was strongly built and had brown hair. He had a babyish face that was twisted into an expression of cruel enjoyment as he pushed a frail, blond haired boy to the ground. "And _that's_ how I showed those monkeys! And I'll show you, Colin, if you don't stay out of my way!" he screeched.

Colin didn't move as the two other boys laughed at him. The youngest of the boys looked up to the tallest. "There's nothing to do, Talo. Other than fight Colin, but that's not much fun." he said, he seemed to be nothing more than a toddler, but he talked with a strange, adult sense about him.

"Oh, Malo, you spoil all of my fun. Fine, we won't bother him." the taller boy said as he turned away from the frail boy named Colin.

Colin crawled hesitantly away from them and over to Link. "Link, are you going to see Illia?" he asked in a frightened tone. "I was going to see her, but those boys over there never let me through. Can we go see her together?"

Link nodded and grabbed the frail boy by the shoulder. They walked calmly to Malo and Talo. Talo looked up at Link with something that was one degree away from idol worship. "Hey, we've been waiting for you, y'know, Link. Chasing that monkey was so much fun! Yeah, chasing that monkey was great. I was just telling Malo here about how we wanted to show it to him, but we let it go instead."

Malo looked disappointedly at Talo's obvious bravado. "Oh, and you _didn't_ get caught?" he asked sarcastically.

Talo ignored his friend and turned to Colin. "Oh and Colin, way to spoil everything by telling your dad, Nice job."

"Yeah, thanks a lot! We got scolded by our dad something awful. I thought it was never going to end!" Malo added.

"I bet you're going to go see Illia aren't you? Well, there's no way I'm going to let you pass!" he glanced up at Link's disapproving gaze. He completely ignored it. "Oh, neat, Link, let me borrow that wooden sword you have! If I had that wooden sword, I could have handled that monkey last night all alone, definitely!"

Link shook his head resolutely.

"C'mon, let me borrow that wooden sword, right now!" Talo pleaded. "I won't let you pass unless you do!"

Link sighed and handed the little boy his sword. Talo jumped around happily and swung the sword a few times in Colin's direction. The two boys then ran off towards the girl, showing her their prize of victory.

Colin looked up at Link. "Thanks…Those guys are always teasing me. What's so fun about swinging a wooden stick around anyway? I hate it…it's scary. But when I grow up, Link, I want to be just like you!" he stated with a small smile. "I don't want to learn about swords or anything, but could you teach me how to ride a horse sometime?" he added quickly, his frail voice faltering even more than it usually did. "Please, you have to promise!"

"I promise." Link promised obligingly.

Colin then nodded and ran off towards the spirit spring and Illia.

Colin arrived at the spirit spring a few moments before Link and heard Illia grumbling about the injustices of the world. Link ran up behind him and Colin turned around to face him. Illia heard the noise and turned to face Link as well. "If you came to take Epona back than you can _forget_ it!" she screeched. She ran over to him and slammed the gate leading to the spirit spring in his face. "How about you think about what you've done for a change! I won't open the gate until you've changed your attitude."

Link looked angrily at her. "Illia, I need the horse."

"I don't care what you need. And your 'horse' has the name of Epona, so call her that!" she said as she stormed back to take care of the injured horse.

Colin butted into the conversation. "Illia, you don't know what happened yesterday."

Illia remained stubbornly firm in her ignorance.

Colin sighed "I'll try to explain about Talo and the monkey. You go back towards your house; there is a large crack in the rock wall on one side. If you crawl through that crack, then you will come out into the spirit spring." he explained.

Link nodded and walked off, studying the walls for a sign of a fissure.

Colin turned to Illia and took a deep breath. "Yesterday, Talo was showing off to all his friends. He said that he could kill a monkey with his bare hands. Lo and behold a monkey came into the area we were at that moment, and he took off after it. He went deep into Faron woods. I went to Link first, knowing that he could get a head start on my dad. Link ran off with Epona to try to get Talo back. I then went to my dad, because Faron woods has changed in the last year. I was afraid that Talo would hurt himself. As you know my dad, Rusl, then summoned some of the men folk in the village and ran off to join Link.

"Link had gone deep into the forest, he told me so. He went all the way to the entrance of the ancient Temple. It's supposed to be haunted you know. Well, he went to the entrance of the temple, Talo and the Monkey were in a large cage. Two horrible, goblin-like creatures were stabbing them with sharp sticks. Link fought off the monsters and saved both the monkey and Talo. _That's_ why Epona's injured, the forest is uneven and she hurt her leg while saving Talo. She didn't hurt it jumping and doing other tricks for Link, you know he cares about Epona."

At that exact moment, Link popped out of the fissure and landed with a large splash in the spring. Illia smiled and walked over to him. She helped him to his feet, "I had no idea, I hadn't heard the details about what happened last night."

Illia walked brusquely back to the horse, ready to pet her when the horse shook her hand away. "So, you still prefer your master over me?" she asked sadly. She turned back to Link and closed her eyes in a resigned manner. "Don't worry about your horse, Link. Fortunately, it looks like the injury isn't too serious. You can go together. But, Link, promise me this…Come home safely." she said with a small smile. "And don't try to do anything out of your league."

Link smiled at her concern and nodded obediently.

Without warning Epona bucked violently. Her neigh of panic echoed eerily in the still spring. Illia put her hand calmly on Epona's flank, attempting to calm her down. Link started to talk to Epona and Illia cooed calmingly. Colin made a signal with his hand for them both to be quiet. "Do you hear that?" he asked softly after a moment of silence.

Illia looked confused, but Link nodded. "What do you hear?" she asked Link.

"Thunder in the distance." he replied.

"I don't think its thunder, it's growing louder." Colin said fearfully.

Illia heard it too, a low, rumbling noise. "Well, it's probably nothing…" she said with a nervous laugh.

Epona spooked and ran off, sloshing water all over the Hylians. Illia snorted in disgust as she wrung part of her shirt dry. "That horse may be a wonderful companion, but she has no courage whatsoever!"

Colin looked over his shoulder to the entrance to the spirit spring. The ground started to shake. "I think that Epona had the right idea!" he shouted as he started to scramble towards the fissure in the rock.

The rumbling sound grew deafening, and soon they saw the cause. A band of green creatures broke the gate that barred off the spirit spring while riding strange beasts. The beasts were like wild boars, but they were larger than an average man. Their red eyes glowed with a disturbing intensity and their tusks dripped sweat and blood. One of the green creatures, whose face was hidden by a large bandana over his mouth, strung a bow and quickly shot it in Colin's general direction. It hit him in the foot and he fell down with a scream of pain. Link stepped protectively in front of Illia as she started to run towards the fissure as well. The archer hit her neatly in the back. She let out a grunt of pain and fell face first into the water. Link gasped and started to run to Illia's assistance, only to feel a very large weight hit him at the base of the head. The next thing he knew, cold water splashed over his body and everything went dark.


	10. Part 2, Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Cursed Companions

About an hour after Colin and Illia had been kidnapped, Link woke up with a start. He sloshed around in the cold water, looking for any hint of where the strange foes had taken them. He found a single, small ring that he had given to Illia. He picked it up and slipped it into his pocket. He stood up unsteadily and started to run back towards the village. He shuddered to think about what might have happened if the foes had continued into Ordon Village. He arrived at the peaceful clearing around his house. The three children were still loitering around. Talo swung his sword weakly as Link entered into the clearing. The girl looked up from a small scroll she was reading and shot him a worried look. Malo was curled up, sleeping, right next to her.

"Has anyone come by here?" Link asked, out of breath.

Talo eyed Link's appearance, still damp with sweat and water. He watched as a nasty looking bruise seemed to grow around his neck. "What happened to you?"

Link glared at the young boy. "Did anyone pass through here?" he slowly and calmly repeated.

Talo sensed the danger in Link's voice. "Nah, it's just been us. I've been keeping watch this whole time."

"Oh _really_?" Malo asked sullenly as he opened one eye. "I remember you were napping just a few hours before…"

"I've been awake, Link, and I can say for a fact that no one has come through here towards the village. I heard something deep in the woods though." the girl added.

Link nodded. "Run home and tell the Mayor and Rusl that Colin and Illia are in danger." he said as he turned around to run back into the forest.

"What kind of danger?" Malo asked carelessly.

"They were kidnapped, now hurry and go tell them!" he shouted.

Link ran past the spirit spring as fast as he could go. After a few minutes of running he came to a small, rickety bridge that passed a very large and imposing chasm. He had passed it many times before. He stepped onto the bridge cautiously, he saw that several of the ropes holding it together were frayed or cut. He tried not to think about it as he tentatively crossed; he allowed this moment of caution to help him steady his breathing. When he finally reached the other side of the chasm he started to run along the path towards the deepest section of Faron Woods. He saw many signs of the beasts that had run through, from scratched trees to churned earth. It seemed to get unnaturally darker the longer he ran. The light became very strange. It seemed to be tinted with red, like what happens around sunset. This light, while looking like the light that comes from the sunset, seemed to blur edges of things. It seemed that everything was seeping into this strange light. He ignored the strange surroundings and pounded through the trees with his head bent. He ran straight into a wall. He fell flat on his butt and gazed up at the obstacle. The dark shroud reached endlessly up into the heavens and stretched across the forest for as long as he could see. He put his hands on the shroud and tried to push, but it was as solid as iron. He backed up from it and studied the mysterious, foreign object. It seemed to flutter tantalizingly, like a slight breeze was teasing it forward. On its black surface were large, golden runes that faded in and out of sight. Out of nowhere a gigantic, black hand reached through the darkness and grasped onto Link's torso. Two fingers closed threateningly around his neck and started to pull him into the darkness. Link struggled futilely in the powerful hand. He screamed as he was dragged into the darkness.

All sound stopped, his scream caught in his throat. The darkness pressed against his body like a crushing weight. His body quickly adjusted to the change, but his hearing did not. There was no sound, yet there were many things around that would have made sounds. He smelt something like death as the hand dragged him further into the darkened woods. The light was dimmer than the red light he had seen a few minutes before, but it seemed to be the same kind of light. A huge metal plated head loomed up before him. Tentacles spewed out from around the metal plate and started to caress Link sickeningly. Link used his free arms to try to pry the fingers of the hand loose, but to no avail. The tentacles enveloped him, and he heard a strange noise. The creature was sniffing him, seeing if he would be good to eat. Link tried to scream again, but only a small grunt came out. He viscously tore at the tentacles trying to grab him. One tentacle wrapped around his left hand, he felt a pain shoot through that hand and into his arm. The tentacle released its grip, but the pain continued. The hand loosened and the pain grew stronger. Finally, the creature dropped Link altogether and ran away from him. The pain in his hand grew to unbearable levels. He looked down at his hand to see an odd sight. A strange symbol glowed brightly on his hand, it was of three triangles that fitted together to make one. All three triangles were visible, but one was slowly throbbing white light. The pain grew to more than Link could take. His heart seemed to beat a drum in his ears. He finally let out a scream of pain, he felt his body transform. He felt his face narrow and his eyes became clearer and able to see better. He felt his fingernails grow unnaturally long, and his hair seemed shrink as his body seemed to sprout hair. His scream of pain became a roar of fury. His eyes dimmed as his body thudded to the ground. Everything went black for the once normal young man for the second time that day.

The tentacle creature slunk out of the shadows. It inched cautiously over towards the transformed man. He bent down and sniffed the new creature, it still smelled delicious. A hand reached down to grab the now defenseless man. A small, shapely, imp-like creature sprang up in the face of the tentacle creature. The imp put her hands out in front of her and pushed the creature back. The creature was so shocked that he obeyed willingly.

"No, no, no…That one is mine!" she whispered as she retreated back towards Link. She reached down and patted the cursed one on the head. "No, he's not mine. He's Zant's." she turned around to face the creature again. "You are to take him to Zant."

The creature nodded, amazed at what authority this small package seemed to wield.

Link shook his head groggily. A single drop of water landed on his nose. He twitched and became aware of his surroundings. He tried to move one leg, but it seemed to be attached to something. His eyes flickered open slowly. His head swiveled around to look at his surroundings. He looked down at his unmovable paw and saw that it was chained to a large metal pole. A few water droplets fell on him washing away all tiredness. He snarled up at the ceiling, his fangs glittered in the faint twilight. His snarl stopped suddenly as he looked down at his legs, now paws. His eyes became wide; he was no longer a human. He quickly rolled onto his feet and started to pace. On three sides of him the walls were solid, unyielding stone. On one wall however, was a wooden grate with a small door. He looked down at his chained front paw. He lowered his head and bit at the iron weakly. He shook his head, trying to shake the chain loose but to no avail.

A childish giggle interrupted his pitiful attempt to break free. He looked up with a start, every single muscle grew taught. Every sense was on full alert; he was ready for anything, because anything could be an enemy. The giggle sounded again and something started to materialize in front of the bars. A strange creature formed, it was distinctly female. Her body was a teal-blue. Her brilliant eyes glowed yellow and red. Red hair seemed to sprout from the top of the overly large helmet she wore. Her practically inexistent lips curled into a smile of triumph. Her exotic tattoos glowed brightly with a peaceful light.

Link tensed up, she was definitely _not_ a human.

She suddenly jumped through the bars of the cage, passing right through the bars.

Link sprung back, ready to attack.

"I found you!" she exclaimed happily.

Link growled menacingly as the creature came forward.

"Oooh, Aren't you _scary_." she taunted with a smile, she had become giddy with her success. She crossed her arms and started to circle around the growling beast. She gave out a slight laugh, "Are you sure you want to be doing that? Snarling and glaring at me?" she paused and waited for the beast's response.

He snarled and glared.

She shrugged. "Well, that's too bad… I was planning on helping you—if you were nice."

Link's ears perked up at the mention of help. He came out of his attack position and stopped growling immediately.

The creature smiled and laughed again. "That's much better! You humans are obedient to a fault, aren't you?"

She crossed over and slapped the wolf on the muzzle. "Oops, buy you _aren't_ a human anymore, are you? You're a beast!" she said with glee.

Link snarled and tried to nip at the sharp clawed hand but she jumped away with an annoyingly taunting laugh.

"There, there. You be a good boy now and calm down. No need to bite!" she paused for a moment after saying this. She closed her eyes and summoned a small black cloud in the palm of her hand. It shot forward suddenly and broke the chain that held Link's front paw.

He looked down in astonishment, jaw agape.

Her face appeared in front of his, so they were nose to nose. "You look surprised!" she stated obviously. She jumped back and seemed to dissolve through the bars again. "So, you're probably wondering where exactly _are_ we? Well, I'll make you a deal. If you can get over here to me, then maybe I'll tell you!" she sniggered and stretched lazily.

Link studied the grate carefully. He saw that the bars in one area seemed weaker. Piled in front of the bars a bunch of moldy hay and filthy rags lay, they pitifully tried to conceal the weakness. He scooted the junk away from the weakened area of the bars and started to gnaw on them. The creature put her face close to the bars. "Use your tail, dummy." she hissed.

Link shot her a glare that could kill and then whirled his tail around quickly. The creature moved quickly away from the spot, and Link burst through the bars. He looked around the hallway for signs of the creature. An echoing laugh sounded all around him, but he could not see its maker. He felt a thud on his back. His eyes rolled back and his head lifted to see what was now riding him. It was the creature. Link danced around in frustration at the indignity of being ridden. The creature wove her claws through the thick hair of his neck and held on tightly to him.

"Well, I guess you're not completely useless after all. At least I didn't have to tell you where the bars were the weakest."

He stopped and started to growl at her. She patted his head mockingly. Her hand draped across his face, coming tantalizingly close to his mouth. A sharp elbow stuck itself into his neck, causing Link great discomfort. The creature held her head in one hand and looked down at her salvation. She knew that this was the beast the parchment had spoken of. "Look, I like you, so I'm going to get you out of here and back where you came from." She grabbed his ear and pulled it painfully back. She brought her face close to the wolf. "But in exchange for my help you have to do _exactly_ as I say, understood?"

Link growled.

"Good, if you need help with anything, just growl." she replied with a smile. She pointed down the corridor. "That way, it leads to the sewers." she ordered.

Link ran obediently down the passageway and to freedom from the people who had caged him, but slavery towards his savior.

Several hours later, after a very long journey and several strange encounters with spirits of some sort they emerged out of the sewers. Link peered back over the edge of the pit they had crawled out of.

"You tired yet, doggie?" the creature asked with a wink.

Link didn't even try to communicate with his taskmaster. He glanced around at his surroundings; they were on the roof of a large building.

"So, you haven't guessed where we are yet?"

Link looked down at the ground and pawed absently at the shingles.

The creature pointed towards a glowing bundle. "You're a wolf, use your animal sense to go talk to that spirit." she commanded. "He'll tell you where you are."

Link walked cautiously over to the figure of a crumpled man. The body was shaking convulsively. Link went over and cautiously nudged the figure with his nose. The figure jumped and looked around, tortured eyes burned in their sockets. "W-who's there? W-Who's attacking? What are you?" he screamed at the space around him. "Why a-are you attacking our lovely Hyrule Castle?"

Link lifted his head and looked towards the imp creature.

"So, do you know where we are now?" she said with a giggle. "I have someone I need you to meet, come on." she commanded as she started to walk towards a very large tower.

The creature led him on a round-about way through several castle corridors until they arrived at the base of some spiral stairs. She pointed forward lazily and they started to climb, it wasn't very far to the top. The double door at the top was cracked open just slightly. Link nudged the door open and slunk inside. A cloaked figure was framed by the window with its elegant grate. The figure's gloved hands pressed firmly on the sill of the window. Link growled instinctively; clocked figures usually weren't friends. Midna covered her mouth and suppressed a giggle. The figure turned around with a sharp intake of breath. The lower half of the figure's pale face glowed serenely in the twilight. She didn't make any sudden movements, but stood calmly in front of him.

Midna rolled her eyes and pushed the back of Link's head so that he started to walk towards the figure.

"Midna?!" the figure asked in a distinctly hopeful and feminine voice.

"So, you remembered my name? What an honor for me!" the imp replied.

Link turned his face around to peer at the figure named Midna on his back.

"This is the one for whom you were searching?" the figure asked.

Link turned his head back around to stare at the cloaked figure.

"Well, he's not exactly what I was looking for, but…I guess he'll do."

The figure knelt down so that she was eye to eye with the wolf. "You were imprisoned?" she paused for a moment and sighed. She stretched forth a hand and tenderly touched Link's hairy face. "I truly am sorry."

Midna brushed her gentle touch away and interrupted the apology. "The poor thing has no idea where he is or how this happened. So, don't you owe him an explanation about what you managed to do to this place? Royal, 'Twilight Princess.'" she addressed her teasingly.

The figure seemed about to say something in retort, but thought better of it. "Listen," she said slowly to the wolf. "This was once the land where the power of the gods was said to slumber. This was once the land of Hyrule. But that land has been transformed by the 'King who rules the Twilight...' It has been turned into a world of shadows, ruled by those who shun the light."

The figure then related the tale of how the ruling power, Zelda, had sacrificed power over to the King.

"Twilight covered Hyrule like a shroud, and without light, the people of Hyrule turned into spirits."

Midna annoyingly flicked Link on the ear to make sure he paid attention.

"Within the twilight, they live on, unaware that they have passed into the realm of spirits. All the people know is fear; fear of a nameless evil.

"The kingdom may have succumbed to twilight, but I still remain its princess. I am Zelda." she said as she removed her cloak. Her flawless face glittered and tears ran perfectly down her cheeks.

"You don't have to look so sad…" Midna tried to console with her ally. "I actually find it quite livable! Is perpetual twilight really all that bad?" she asked with a grin.

Zelda looked deep into Midna's eyes. "Midna, this is no time for your levity. The shadow monsters have been searching far and wide for you. Why is this?"

Midna hopped off of Link's back and turned her back on them both, hiding her face. She felt Zelda's gaze penetrate to her very soul. "Why, indeed…You tell me?" she said with a sad attempt at a laugh.

Link could see that any cheerfulness that his strange companion had was only a farce to cover something deeper.

Zelda broke her gaze form Midna and returned it to Link. "Time is growing short, the guard will make his rounds soon…"

The ominous sound of footsteps broke Zelda's thought.

Midna took one sad glance at Zelda, as if asking her not to probe deeper than she need to about herself. She then grabbed Link by the ears and started to dissolve into the twilight, taking Link with him. They floated easily through the grate of Zelda's window and onto the castle rooftop.

Zelda pressed her face up against the grate to peer at them. "Midna, remember…"

Midna cut her off with a wave of her hand and a small hiss. "Yes, yes. I know!"

Zelda gazed at her curiously for a few seconds; Midna seemed to blow hot and cold spastically. She would have to keep that in mind in any further conversations she had with this strange Twili. "Good Luck." she said simply with a small smile. A glimmer of hope seemed to echo in her voice as Link started to walk along the rooftop.

Link continued to walk until he reached the edge of the rooftop. She jumped off and hovered just above the tiles skillfully. "So, do you understand where we are now?"

Link nodded.

"Well then, I guess a promise is a promise. I'll take you back to where you first tumbled into the twilight. But…are you really sure you should be going back? Are you sure you aren't forgetting anything important?"

Link looked at her quizicly.

She smiled and spun quickly, transforming into the figure of Colin. She screamed convincingly, in Colin's own voice. Then, she turned yet again to become the figure of Illia, who also screamed.

Link started in remembrance, he had forgotten all about them.

"Do you want to save them?" the phantom Illia said in Midna's voice. "Well, in that case, little Midna would be happy to help you." she said and struck a flirtatious pose. "But…You would have to be my servant, and as my servant do exactly as I say." she turned back into Midna's form smoothly. "Why don't you go back home for a little while and give it some thought." she said with a chuckle.

Midna flicked her hand upwards, and Link felt a strange sensation. He felt like his body was seeping away, particle by particle into nothingness. The last thing he heard was Midna's laugh before everything went black.

Light reappeared quickly. He found himself standing in the spirit spring near Ordon Village. He looked around excitedly, until he realized that all four of his limbs were in the water. He was not yet a human.

"Oh, and I forgot to mention one thing…" Midna's voice said.

Link looked around for the source, but found no one.

"Though you may have left the darkened realm, you have not turned back into your former self…and you won't be turning back anytime soon. Now why would that be?" the voice laughed cruelly. "See you later!" she hummed.


	11. Part 2, Chapter 6

**Blah, the site was being mean to me. I couldn't upload the document all day Sunday. Sorry!

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Chapter 6: Saviors

Link snarled, annoyed at his tormentor. He decided that the best thing to do would be to go back to the village, even though he was a wolf. The beast sloshed through the water and out onto dry land. He shook himself dry and started to turn towards the village.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" his tormentors voice echoed.

Link ignored it and continued walking until he noticed his shadow. It was no longer his own, but was the form of his tormentor, waving up at him. His eyes widened in curiosity as he pawed the ground near Midna's head. She popped out of the ground immediately and slapped the beast on the nose.

"Put those claws away!" she said playfully. "Did you actually think I disappeared? I wouldn't trust you alone for one minute. But, that's not the reason I got your attention. Listen, you can't just run off and save your friends, it doesn't work that way. Just beyond the bridge, the land is covered in twilight. Last time, a Twili monster pulled you through the shroud but next time you'll need some cooperation from a Twili."

Link cocked his head to one side, as if asking what a Twili was.

"A twilight creature, idiot! You know, one like me."

Link nodded in understanding.

"So really, everything depends on me. Saving your friends depends on what mood I'm in and how good you follow directions. Actions do speak louder than words, or in your case growls." she giggled slightly and turned around to face the village. "Your first task is to get me a sword and a shield." She turned and sank back into the ground forming into his shadow. "Hurry up!"

Link started to walk towards the village, noticing that the sun was setting. He was thankful that there was no unnatural red light; Ordon was still clean of that dark shroud.

The beast quickly made it to the clearing near his house. A few green creatures stood lazily guarding the entrance to the village. One glanced carelessly at the beast and then turned back to the sleepy conversation he was having. He did a quick double take and then screamed in panic. Link pounced on the screaming guard as the other tried to scramble up the nearest tree. The first guard was easily stunned and the second one wasn't very good at climbing; Link made quick work of them. He walked on towards the village, worrying about what he would find when a harmless squirrel ran gracefully up.

"Thank you for taking care of those guards. They've made everything a mess. They even kidnapped the village children, not that I care much. Those children always tried to shoot me with that wretched slingshot!" the squirrel sat on its haunches and crossed its arms huffily. "I can tell you're not one of them, you smell like the woods. If you need any help, any help at all, just talk to the animals. We're all friendly in Ordon, unlike some other unsavory places." here it wrinkled its adorably small nose. "We animals have to stick together; even the cats in Hyrule know that. If you ever go there, talk to the cats, their good friends!" it then sprung up a tree, its tail streaming out behind it.

"A squirrel must be very interesting to talk too…" Midna said softly, almost to herself. "Did it say anything useful?"

Link tried his best to shrug and continued on into the village.

The beast stalked quickly into the village. Torches were roughly thrust into the ground at uneven intervals. A man paced the ground uneasily. He was skinny and had brown, dirty looking hair. He looked up at the full moon that shone down upon the unhappy scene with no emotion. "Why, why did it have to come to this? The children please…say nothing has happened to them." he sobbed violently for a few seconds. "Please forgive your good-for-nothing father…" he whispered as he looked down at his hands. He looked up and strait at Link. He took a few paces back and grabbed a small flute he carried with him at all times. "Vile villain, bring back our Children!" he screeched.

Link backed away and back into the shadows where he could be unobserved.

The mayor of Ordon ran over to the chattering man. "What happened?"

"I saw…something. It was a large beast." the man answered.

"You're in shock. You should go back home, we will take care of everything. The beasts are long gone, they took the children and ran." the mayor stated with concern.

"I'm not in shock!" the man retorted. "I want to help find my daughter."

The mayor looked down at the ground. "We are preparing, the moment we are ready to move we will call you. We have no reason to have every man outside right now."

The man nodded mournfully and started to walk towards a small hut. He collided with another worried looking man who was running towards the Mayor at full speed. They both fell flat on the ground because of the force.

"Mayor, I could not find any shields except the small wooden one." the man who had run into the sobbing man said.

The mayor nodded. "The shield is still in your house right?"

"Yes, it's in the storage loft."

"Good, go grab it as quick as you can. Rusl was wounded to badly to fight, so I'll go in his place."

"But, mayor, Rusl had a sword, and he still got wounded! What will happen to you if you go off unarmed?" the man said in disbelief.

"That's why I need the shield." he said with a wink. "And besides, the sword we were going to present to the royal family is still in Rusl's house. I can use both the sword and the shield."

The man nodded and started off.

Midna maneuvered her shadow self behind Link and pulled his tail painfully. "Move, idiot, you can't let them get the only shield!" she hissed quietly.

Link jumped out, howling at the sky and baring his teeth threateningly. The three men stopped in their tracks.

"Into my house," the sobbing man shouted as he opened the hut quickly.

The other two men ran into the house with as much dignity as they could muster.

Midna sniggered and popped out of Link's flickering shadow. "That's a fair bit of information you heard. Where does the man with the shield live?"

Link signaled towards a small mill on one side of a small river.

"Good," she affirmed as she scanned the house for a way of entry. "Ugh…look, an open window. This village is full of idiots." she sighed as she pointed a claw towards a small window on the second story. "We could jump up there, the mill wheel is right next to the window so we could jump from there to the window…" she muttered as her head swiveled around. "Hurry, follow me."

Link followed Midna towards a small incline that jutted out over the river. She then neatly glided across the river and onto the spoke of the mill-wheel.

"Over here!" she beckoned. A hand that looked orange sprouted from the top of her helmet and waved temptingly in front of Link.

Link stared at it with a puzzled expression.

"Bite me," she commanded with a giggle.

Link obliged willingly.

The hand allowed itself to be bitten. "Don't let go." Midna whispered softly. The hand drew Link towards the wheel until he landed safely on the spoke. Midna then glided up to a small ledge right under the window. The orange hand came out again and beckoned to Link.

Link bit it again and was dragged up to the window. He scrambled through after Midna.

The small wooden shield hung loosely on the wall of the small room he entered. Midna was nowhere to be seen. He looked down at his shadow to see the shadow creature waving back at him. He smiled slightly and looked at the shield. It was wooden and intricately carved, it seemed like it wouldn't stand up to much force. He slammed into the rickety wall and the shield came loose. It clattered to the floor loudly. Midna popped out of the shadow and picked up the shield.

"It…It looks kind of cheap." she said with a hint of disappointment.

Link nodded sullenly.

"It will have to do, now go get the sword." she said with a grin. "I hope you don't mind stealing from your fellow comrades."

Link growled once before scrambling back out of house and onto the ledge. He jumped lightly down onto the ground and scanned the village for signs of movement. The town seemed dead. The sound of screaming broke the silence.

"You can't go, I need you here!" a woman screamed as a door opened. "You're injured you have served this town well. You do not need to fight anymore!"

"The children may be back, I thought I heard a strange voice talking."

"They are not coming back, Rusl. They're probably dead already." the female voice wailed as a strong looking man walked out of the door.

"I will not give into that kind of talking. I must go and search for them." Rusl said as he turned to a woman who was stomping around inside the house.  
"I need you here. What if something happens, I can't protect myself!" she cried.

Rusl said nothing but grabbed her hands comfortingly.

"Please, Rusl, I need you hear incase the baby comes…" she pleaded as she rubbed her swollen stomach lovingly.

"Colin is out there, I need to get him. He is our son and we have to do everything we can to get him back."

The woman nodded with tears in her eyes.

"I have placed the sword that was to be our gift to the royal family on the couch. If the mayor comes for it, please give it to him."

"I do not agree with this, Rusl. I've never approved of you running off for weeks on end with that group you are associated with!"

"Even if you don't agree, it's my duty to Ordon and all of Hyrule."

The woman turned away and walked back into the house. "Is your duty to your country more important than the duty to your wife?" she asked bitterly.

"It is not just Colin out there, every child has been kidnapped. This is devastation to the community; we need to get them back." Rusl said sternly.

The woman turned to face her husband and slammed the door in his face.

Rusl sighed, grabbed a torch, and started walking along the rough path towards Link.

Midna pushed Link deeply into the shadows as he started walking around Rusl quietly. They arrived at the small hut Rusl lived at without him catching up. Midna studied the wall closely. "We could dig under the wall, but that would be too time consuming." she stated matter-of-factly. She floated gracefully up to a window and unlatched it. She swung in open quickly and motioned for Link to go in. He jumped in neatly and landed quietly on the floor. The woman sat moodily on the couch next to the sword. She glanced over at the monster and sprung up nervously. She grabbed the sword defensively and held it unsteadily at Link.

"W-what are you doing here?" she stuttered.

Link walked forward a few cautious paces.

The woman jabbed the sword forward, coming dangerously close to Link's nose.

Link sat down slowly and looked straight into the eyes of the frightened woman. His eyes exuded calmness and peace.

"You're eyes are not those of a beast." the woman said, dropping the sword.

The wolf nodded slowly.

The woman looked deeper into the creature's eyes. "You are a friend. I know you." she said softly. Her gaze left his and wandered over the beast. "You…are…" her eyes shot back to the beast's eyes, "Link!" she screamed as she ran over to the beast. She fell on her knees and touched the monsters face with one hand. "What happened?" she asked sadly.

Link looked down at the sword.

"Do you need the sword?" she asked.

Link nodded in reply.

The woman dutifully picked up the sword and handed it to Link.

He gently took it from her grasp with his mouth.

"Whatever happened to you is of first concern of course, but…please, help our children."

Link nodded and then backed away towards the window.

Illia awoke with a start. She couldn't move, her body ached to much. Her laden eyes seemed crusty and her eyelids felt like sandpaper. Tears of pain came into her eyes and took the feeling away. Her vision was blurry and she felt warm blood trickling down one side of her face. Her body lay like a corpse on something soft. She wiggled her toes and fingers apprehensively, they responded with a pain that felt like fire. Her body let out a small shudder and a very weak cough. The sound seemed like it was very far away. Illia's eyes closed and she started to fade out. Before she left the world of the conscious she felt a feeble hand on her forehead. Something hard pressed against her lips. Her lips parted involuntarily and drank in life giving water.

"Don't worry dear, everything is fine now." a shaky female voice comforted.

Illia opened her eyes to look at her savior. It was a feeble old woman; her face was worn with care. Her eyes seemed to be pools of knowledge, and her wispy hair fell over her face mysteriously. The woman reached out a hand and touched the soft skin of Illia. "Poor child," she said mournfully.

An image of Colin suddenly flashed into Illia's mind. She righted herself with amazing agility and started to breath heavily. "Colin!" she screamed in a horse voice.

"What's wrong, dear?" the woman asked.

"Colin, oh no, Colin I have to find him!" Illia sobbed as she sank back onto the pillows, her body couldn't take anymore movement.

"Who's Colin?"

"My friend, he's in trouble." she explained with a cough.

The small bowl of water was pressed to her lips again. "Drink, dear. I'm sure Colin is fine."

Illia shook her head away from the water and rolled over on the side away from the woman. "No, he's not fine. He was kidnapped by the awful monsters like the rest of us. He's too weak to hold up against them." she sobbed.

"Go to sleep." the woman commanded and walked away unsteadily.

Illia faded out of consciousness willingly; the last thing she saw was a strange wand hanging menacingly on the wall. "Why did I have to be spared? Why couldn't Colin have escaped?" she groaned to the object.

A man in his mid-thirties peered cautiously through a window at the desolate landscape surrounding his house. His raven-black, shoulder length hair fell over his oversized features. He blew the offending hair away deftly and turned away from the window. Another man sat on the hard packed earth that made the floor of the home. A fire crackled comfortingly near the man. The man pulled a strange object out of the fire cautiously and stared at it a while. He grabbed a few things out of his pack and started to fidget with the strange object.

"Barnes, what are you doing?" the black haired man said.

The man looked up from his work and paused thoughtfully. His reddish-brown hair was covered by a protective metal mask. He brought the metal mask down over his face and went back to work. "Why do you think everyone else abandoned this village, Renado?" he asked gruffly.

The black haired man looked out of the window, "The stories of strange creatures have been circulation for a while now. They are just myths."

"Then why did the inhabitants of this village take these 'myths' seriously."

"You never answered my question." Renado said evasively.

Barnes laughed and looked up from his work. "I'm making protection, what else? If the stories are true than that means we will need weapons. What did you think the local bomb-man was making?"

Renado chuckled mirthlessly. "I don't know what I expected, Barnes, do you think bombs will hold them off?"

Barnes held his hand out to shush Renado. He held a hand to his ear tentatively. "I think we'll be able to find out soon enough…" he said after a minute.

Renado looked at him, puzzled. "What do you hear?"

"A group is riding slowly towards us…" he said with a grim smile.

Renado decided not to question his friend about his uncanny sense of hearing.

A group of monsters rode confidently on their wild boars into the abandoned town. A small spring burbled tranquilly in the hot noontide. Four children, bound by their hands were forced to stand next to the water. Three were young boys but one was a fitfully sobbing girl. The monsters looked around the spring thoroughly. One of the monsters had a large signal horn strapped to him. He was the largest of the green monsters. His boar was massive and he had boar tusks spurting from the top of his helmet. He signaled to the four captives that they should get closer to the spring. They all stepped into the spring and drank thankfully from the water. The monsters hesitantly grouped around their leader, he had been in a bad mood since one of their prisoners had escaped.

"Sir, there is nothing around to stop the procedure." one of them stated.

The leader nodded and grabbed the horn from around his neck. One of the monsters grabbed the children and dragged them roughly away from the stream. The leader raised his head and brought the horn to his mouth.

Barnes peered through the window of the house, watching the captors and their captives. "Those monsters, their planning on doing something to the spirit spring!" he gasped. He grabbed one of his bombs and started to walk towards the door.

"Wait, you must be careful if you use those, there are innocent children out there." Renado said.

"You save the children; I'll deal with the monsters."

The horn split through the silence piercingly. The children winced as the scream of it echoed around the deserted housed and roads. The sky grew dark suddenly, and a black mist seemed to hide the pure water from site. Out of the mist came several creatures with long tentacles for fingers and around the mouth. They advanced slowly towards the center of the spring. An explosion distracted them for a few moments. The monsters all turned away to look at what had happened.

A blade slit through the dripping bonds of the children. "Hurry, come this way." a kind voice ushered as a dark figure started to sneak away from the monsters. The children obeyed without question.

Another explosion sounded and scorched a few of the monsters into retreating. The leader quickly turned his boar around and started for the exit of the village. Their job was done. Barnes watched the creatures scurry away and noticed that the dark, tentacle creatures had progressed to the middle of the stream and seemed to be drinking water. The man shrugged and scurried back inside, glad that he didn't have to use all of his bombs to drive off the monsters.


	12. Part 2, Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Inconveniences

Link's soft paws treaded the ground on the path towards the forest that was consumed by twilight. Midna still hid in his shadow, saying that it was more comfortable for her there than exposed in an "unnatural light." His head was bowed in shame; he had been forced to steal from the men who had raised him. He had shamed the entire village my stealing, Ordon village was very proud of their strict sense of morals. He didn't even glance at the sparkling spirit stream as he passed it on his way back into the darkness.

"Wait…" a mournful voice called. It sounded like a harp being strummed by a smooth sheet of silk as it fell delicately through crystalline air. It also had the sound of many voices, some angry, some happy, but the single voice that stood out was the one that sounded heavy with sadness. It echoed all around him, but seemed to come from the sparkling around the stream. "Come." the voice gently commanded.

Link obeyed without question, successfully ignoring Midna's loud protestation. The refreshing water swirled sensitively around his paws. Small fingers of the cooling liquid seemed to crawl up his limbs and onto his body. The water instantly healed his sore muscles and refreshed him like the deepest sleep known to mortals. His mouth opened in astonishment as he embraced the feeling of the pure touch.

"You…have been transformed. By the…power of twilight." the voice spoke haltingly, as if looking for the right words. "Come closer" the voice whispered soothingly.

Link obeyed his body inching closer to the liquid. He was about to sit down in the water when he noticed the healing tendrils had retracted rather quickly. His animal instinct sent his muzzle under water to search for the tendrils. He saw something black pass before his eyes and the top of his body became unbearably hot. His face came up immediately, looking around at the strange site that greeted him. Dark mist closed over the water, the sparkling of the sprit spring tried to fight against the darkness by sputtering feebly.

"A…shadow beast approaches." the voice announced in a hoarse and fearful whisper.

A huge shadow loomed over Link as he turned away from the center of the spring. A huge tentacle creature, the kind that had first attacked him, was standing confidently before him. This one was bigger than the other he had seen. With a wave of his hand it pushed Link into the water, which had become boiling hot. The center of the spring bubbled with a red light. A geyser of water shot out and a small floating form seemed to appear for a few seconds. "You shall not kill the last light in this world!" the voice screamed, it sounded scared and very, very angry. The figure ignored the screams and leaned into the geyser. It opened its gaping mouth and started to drink from the water. Link looked up in horror, the voice now screamed in pain and fear, almost pleading for it to stop. Link's eyes narrowed to cold, unfeeling slits. He barked and leaped onto the back of the black monster. It took its head out of the water and spun around, successfully throwing Link off. He got up quickly and ran at the monster again; he would protect this amazing phenomenon from this monster. His claws and teeth inserted themselves easily into the unsuspecting victim's chest. He tore at the creature, any disgust his human self would have shown was gone, he was an animal now. The creature let out one last howl and stopped struggling; its limbs sank down into the spring. The water seemed to almost recoil at the beast's presence. The dark mists receded into the open chest of the creature. The creature then seemed to dissipate into the air.

The human mind took over Link then, and he backed away from the spot where he had killed the creature. He was horrified at what had happened to him.

"So you _are_ capable of violence…" Midna's whisper was barely audible.

The rocks around them started to twinkle with a comforting light. The light grew gradually brighter and spread into the water. The water became something that looked like liquid gold. A single ball of light rose slowly out of the water. It hovered for a few seconds, giving off a charming metallic sound. Horns formed around the perfect sphere of light, from the horns came the form of the goats that Ordon village farmed. It was made of the same material as the golden ball. The ball was so radiant that Link could not look directly at it. "I am one of the four light spirits that protect Hyrule at the behest of the gods and the sages. I am Ordona." the apparition stated with a pleasing voice. "The black beast that you felled was a shadow beast…"

"Twili…" Midna interrupted sullenly.

The apparition turned to look at the grumbling shadow. A small hint of a smile played over its mouth. "Yes…forgive me, Midna. The black beast you felled was a Twili; it came to steal the power of light that I wield.

"My brethren have already had their light stolen by these beasts. The entire kingdom has been reduced to a netherworld ruled by the cursed powers of darkness. The blight will not stop at Hyrule, either. Before long, the entire world will fall to the king who rules the twilight."

Midna made a small noise of disgust.

"To save this land from the king of twilight…" the spirit said, skillfully ignoring the Twili being. "…the light must be restored. The three light spirits that have fallen to the darkness must have their light restored. There is but one who can revive them and redeem the land into light." the figure lowered its head respectfully. The front legs of the spirit bent so that the apparition was kneeling on the water. "You…You still have not discovered the power that lies within you, blessed of Farore. Those who are transformed bye twilight are usually unable to find their way back to their true forms." the figure paused for a minute. "Unless… If you were to return to Faron woods, where you were first transformed… If you were to revive the light spirit! There, by the power of the light, you may be able to recover your natural state of being." the figure concluded with a small smile. The light started to dissolve and the ball sank back into its resting place.

"That's it? That's _all_ the 'famous Ordona is going to tell us." Midna asked in disappointment.

The voice chuckled as the last of the light faded away to leave only small sparkles. "All that I am willing, my dear…"

Link looked at his companion; it seemed from the way the spirit talked that it knew her.

"I don't know that…that _thing_." she said with disgust as she climbed out of the shadow. "So I can't tell you why it seems so familiar."

"You're life may be complicated, Midna, but to us spirits you're life is well known. Good luck!"

A groan came from the small cot in the corner of a cozy looking room. The old woman who had been fussing with her needlework got up from her seat and progressed towards the cot. "Here, have some water." she offered.

The blond haired girl pushed herself up into a sitting position and took the bowl of water thankfully. "Who are you?" she asked after taking her fill.

The old woman smiled kindly and pulled up a chair near the bed. "My name is Impaz."

"Impaz…It sounds familiar…" the girl said thoughtfully.

"It is a traditional Sheikah name."

The girl's face brightened in recognition. "It sounds like one, are you actually a Sheikah?"

"No, they died out a long time ago. My grandmother was though." the woman said with a small sigh.

"Where am I?"

"You are in a small village near Kakariko. Its name has long ago been lost…"

"Does anyone else live here?"

"No, only me, and my cats of course!" she said with a smile.

"Thank you for rescuing me…" the girl said sadly.

The woman nodded sagely and turned to a small, crackling fire in the fireplace. "You must be hungry, dear. Come and eat."

The girl grew very quiet as she struggled out of the cot. She staggered over and grabbed a bowl of warm soup. She ate several servings, never giving eye contact towards her rescuer and never speaking.

"The necklace you were wearing is over on the table." the woman added with an afterthought.

The girl did not respond but stared into the fire blankly. A single tear fell from her cheek and plopped into her near empty bowl.

The woman scurried towards her guest and threw an arm around her comfortingly. "Don't cry, now, what's wrong?"

The girl calmly put the bowl on the ground and then put her head in her hands. Her shoulders started to heave in silent sobs. "I…I cannot stop thinking a-about them!" she wailed. "I c-cannot stay here…not while they're still imprisoned. And…L-Link, what has happened to him? W-where did he go?"

"What is your name, dear?"

"I-Illia."

"Illia, who are you talking about?"

"The children, they were captured along with me. A-and Link is the man who I have loved ever since my childhood."

Impaz nodded understandingly. "You are going through shock, and you have much worry on your mind."

Illia sobbed and nodded her head.

"I cannot let you leave here until you are better. You're wounds will heal quickly, but your mind will not…"

Illia replied with deep breaths as she tried to control her breathing.

"There is one way that I could help you though…" she added. "Sheikah's have many healing rituals, most of which involved the mind."

"I must go as quickly as possible." Illia said her voice throaty from crying.

"And you shall, if you would be willing to use a certain Sheikah remedy."

"I am."

The woman nodded and walked gracefully over to the wall where the strange wooden carving hung. She took it down fondly and carried it gently over to her guest. "This is a very strange carving, it is said to have many enchantments upon it. The enchantment which was widely used was one of healing, so this should heal you. It has healed me many times over." She pointed towards the top of the carving where a single eye with spikes coming out of the top sat. "Do you know what that is?"

Illia shook her head.

"It is the symbol of the Sheikah, but more importantly it is the beast form of our founder. Do you know who he was?" she asked in a confidential tone.

"No."

"He was a wizard named Vaati. He was also part of the race of the Minish. It is a long and complicated story, but he ended up in love with a female warrior. He gave her all the magic knowledge he ever knew. After finding out the magic, she left him. After that, he grew angry and tried to destroy almost everything he knew. His anger consumed him until he became a beast with a single eye. He was defeated, but his magic lived on in the knowledge of that warrior girl. She trained people in the mix of magic and strength that is now known as the Sheikah. Our symbol is of the man who gave us the power to become who we are. This carving was said to be carved by the great Impa: to symbolize the history of our extinct race. Din only knows how our family ended up with it, but it has healing charms on it!" the woman rambled.

"A very interesting story indeed." Illia said, staring at the strange carving.

The woman held the staff above Illia's head. She passed it over three times, her eyes closed in concentration. She said a few words in a strange, darkly twisted dialect. Impaz didn't feel the tingling sensation which meant that the magic was activating. A loud _thump_ was heard and Impaz opened her eyes in alarm.

Illia lay sprawled on the ground. Her blank eyes looked up at the ceiling. Her mouth hung agape as her fingers began to twitch violently. Impaz screamed in terror and kneeled down to examine the girl. "Illia? Illia, can you hear me?"

The girl blinked a few times and shook her head. She sat up and looked around the room. "Illia? Who is Illia?" she asked in a dazed confusion.

Impaz's mouth hung agape. "I did the ritual as instructed, it has always worked before…" she mumbled.

"What ceremony?"

Impaz glanced around her small house nervously. "Look, something's very wrong." she spoke slowly and clearly. "I need you to come with me quietly. I have someone who will tell you all the answers."

"Who?"

"A doctor in Hyrule Castle Town."

"What?"

Impaz rolled her eyes in frustration. "No more questions dear, something very wrong happened. I need to fix it, come and get your things."

"What things?"

"Th—" Impaz's explanation was cut short by a loud thump on the door.

A cruel laugh was heard on the other side. "Give us back our prisoner!" a loud voice boomed.

Impaz's eyes widened. "How do they know you're here?"

"What's happening?" the dazed girl asked in frustration.

"Something very inconvenient…"

Zant settled deeper into his lush throne. His unmasked head leaned back and looked at the ceiling. His eyes closed as exhaustion washed over him. His pale skin looked even paler in the twilight. His long, claw like fingers drummed the side of the throne nervously.

"She knows something!" a booming voice echoed around inside the great room.

Zant sighed and straightened up in his seat, thanking his luck that there were no men to hear him talking to a disembodied voice. "If she does know anything, she's not telling me."

"Why would she tell a weak, pitiful ruler who had to beg for my help?" the voice slurred in aggravation.

"Why would she tell a 'god' who answered my pleas?" Zant shot back with a haughty tone.

"I know more about Hylians and especially the royal family than you would ever hope to know. She's not telling us what we need to know. That information may be vital to the safety of our reign."

"It's _my_ reign, first of all, and you're becoming too paranoid for my liking." Zant pouted crossly, he was getting very tired of the voice continually harping him whenever he had a spare moment.

"Your pride will make you fall one day." the voice warned menacingly.

"Well, I'll make sure you fall with me!" he responded with a small smirk. "Besides, other than a rebellion, nothing could stand in my way."

"You overestimate yourself; many tyrants have fallen because of that very action."

"What could stand in my way if you wish for something otherwise?" Zant rephrased.

"Many things…" the voice lost some of its harshness and it spoke softly.

"Like what?"

The voice was silent for a long time. A huge sigh blew around the cavernous room. "You asked me to help you rule both worlds, and that is what I will do. But you are not too question me or anything I say, I am only doing this for your benefit."

Zant rolled his eyes at the evasive response and stood up. "What kind of information do you think Zelda is hiding from us?"

"You have an enemy, Midna, am I correct?"

Zant nodded.

"Did you kill her?"

Zant shook his head sadly. "I didn't get a chance."

"She could be planning a rebellion, along with some of Zelda's friends."

"How do you know any of this?"

"Royal families are always well connected, and I'm sure Zelda has many friends who would be willing to fight."

"She gave up pretty easily; she wouldn't have done so if there were hope." Zant added.

"Or, maybe she wanted you to become confident and make a mistake."

"You overestimate the poor girl, she's hardly an adult and you make out that she's some hardened war tactician." Zant sniggered. "She's hardly 'fighting' material."

The voice did not respond again.

"Aha! See, you can't come up with a reason to think she's 'fighting' material!" Zant shouted triumphantly.

"I used to think the same thing as you, but I was taught a very hard lesson…" the voice said sadly.

"What was the lesson?" Zant pressed.

The voice grew silent, and Zant knew that the voice would not speak again.


	13. Part 2, Chapter 8

_This chapter is dedicated to my best friend Melody, who's had a very hard week. Toe Surgery, and a death in the family. I'm very sorry Mel, I know this chapter doesn't mean a lot, and it's short. But know that you're always in my thoughts. I love you! _

Chapter 8: Remnant

Midna leaned on the dark, slightly solid shroud of twilight. Her body shimmered and wavered along with the semi-transparent barrier. Her face was unreadable as she stared blankly into space. Link lay next to her, resting up before running into the dark world. His ears drooped sadly as he pondered the fate of his village. His front ankle was chaffed from the iron cuff that still clanked loudly from his paw. A small piece of chain was still attached to it, a memory of his small time in that dirty cell. He looked up at Midna and whimpered mournfully. He lifted his paw pathetically and let it dangle, his ears drooping even lower. Midna glanced down and an evil smile spread across her face. "What, you want me to take that pretty bracelet off? In my country such a _fine_ piece of jewelry would have been treasured." she mocked.

Link put his paw down and rested his chin on it. Why had Midna suddenly turned so harsh since her encounter with the Light Spirit? Was it something that he said, was it the tone in which he addressed her? He shook the thoughts out of his head and closed his eyes.

Midna's smile fell from her face as she looked down at the tortured beast at her feet. She felt sorry for him, everything he ever though, ever valued, had been thrown down the drain in recent events. She sighed and pushed herself off of the shroud and walked around to face Link from the front. "The Faron woods that you know so well are covered in Twilight now." she stated with no emotion. "You might not be able to make your way back into the world of light if you go back in there."

Link raised his head, stopped to think, and then lumbered painfully to his paws. He turned his snout towards the twilight, and then back to Midna.

Midna smiled a genuine smile and drifted into the shroud of twilight. Her body dissolved as she hit it, and the entire barrier seemed to ripple like water. The arcane, golden runes that ran along the surface of the shimmering boundary seemed to disappear for a few seconds. An orange hand extended itself towards Link and swept him up quickly. Link took a bracing breath and was plunged into the icy darkness of the twilight realm.

The darkness was not as gloomy as he first remembered it being as his eyes opened. He got his sensed back very quickly compared to the first time he had been thrust into the darkness. The atmosphere seemed to have more light than usual, a purple, and somewhat beautiful light. Strange flecks of darkness were the only things that reminded him that this was not a natural twilight. Any light that filtered through the dark canopy of trees was bright and hazy. It contrasted magnificently with the purple shadows on the ground and the black forms of trees as they sheltered their forest. He soon noticed that he had no shadow; he looked around for his mysterious companion. He felt a pair of legs tighten across his back and he raised his head slightly to see his companion, riding him like a horse. She was awkwardly holding the sword and trying to figure out what the shield was meant to do. She placed it on her head so it covered her face. "So…These are the weapons you use in your world?" Midna swung the sword dangerously close to Link's ears.

He ducked and growled defensively.

"Do you really think these playthings can kill a Twili being?" she asked.

Link felt like mentioning that it was _her_ idea to steal a sword and a shield, but he only sighed deeply.

She lifted the shield off of her head. "That is the most useless thing I have ever seen. It doesn't even have eye holes!" she threw the shield lightly; it landed with a painful sound on Link's upturned face. "I won't use these, but I'll keep them until you can use them again." she snapped her fingers, and both object dissolved into the twilight. She looked down at her companion. She sighed and leaned down, supporting her chin on the top of his head. "Alright, a promise is a promise…I trust your abilities enough to help. If I help you restore this 'wonderful light' and you turn back into a human, then you'll have to return the favor. I can't tell you the details now, but don't worry it will be easy. We can probably do your return favor on the way!" she said slyly.

A tinkling noise interrupted Midna suddenly. It seemed like a song of sadness and a plea for help in one, glorious tune. Midna's eyes sparkled with greed as she turned toward the path that led to the spirit spring of Faron. "Listen, do you hear that? It sounds like a plea for help… From who, I wonder?" she said with a malicious laugh.

Link ignored Midna's farce of jollity and started running towards the lovely song.

Black mist seemed to enshroud them as they carried on towards the sound. Midna looked around and bit her lower lip in thought. "More of those Twili monsters…You can handle them, right?" she said as she started to meld into Link's shadow.

Link glared at the shadow which was slowly blending into the black mist, he didn't really seem to have a choice on whether he could "handle it." Midna always seemed to disappear when he could really use her help. He growled slightly as he saw three identical, black creatures form out of the mist. They drifted around lightly as they surrounded Link. Link jumped on the nearest one and tore into its flesh, ignoring his repulsion. The other two creatures ran quickly up to their fallen comrade and threw Link to the ground. The creature lay on the ground; stunned by the viciousness of the attack. Link hurriedly jumped on the next one and repeated the process. He turned to the last one, it scurried out of Link's reach and seemed to brace itself to the ground. It raised its head and let out an ear-shattering scream. Link heard a sound behind him and turned around, the beasts were rising to their feet; awakened by the scream. Link circled around quickly in panic at the realization that if one was left alive, the others would always come back. Suddenly, an orange beam of light shot out from Link's shadow and trapped the creatures.

"Hurry, Link, attack them now!" Midna's voice shouted.

Link followed her orders without question, and they all fell down, never to rise.

"They need to be held in place in order for you to attack them quickly enough." Midna stated as she crawled out of his shadow. "I'll do that whenever you need too, hopefully you won't need that skill often." she said as she glided gracefully over towards the spirit spring.

Unlike the spirit spring of Ordona, the spirit spring of Faron seemed to be dead. There was no light within it; the water was stagnant and stunk of the foul smell of death. Link inched his way closer towards the spring and sniffed its water apprehensively. He dipped his paw into the weird colored liquid experimentally. For a moment, the spring flickered into life, and the full beauty of the spring flashed before his eyes. It instantly dimmed, leaving only a small remnant of the life it once had. A single drop of liquid gold seemed to bounce out of the water with effort. It glowed dully, as if it were tainted. The mournful tune the spring had been singing faded away, leaving an eerie, death-like silence. "Please…be careful…" a painfully weak voice pleaded from the golden drop. "These…woods have…changed." it stated haltingly, as if every syllable was an effort almost too great to bear. "The dark clouds of dusk cover this land… This drape of shadows: Twilight. In this world those who live in light…become as mere spirits… It is a place…where the dark ones and evil creatures live."

Midna lowered her eyes to the dark water. Her farce of cheerful helpfulness evaporated as she looked at the death and destruction her people had caused.

"I…am the spirit of light…" the voice droned on. "Blue-eyed beast, look for my light… Retrieve the light stolen by the dark beasts…." it commanded, its voice growing fainter. "Keep the remnant tears in this…"

A beautifully crafted, curving, and flexible rod of metal seemed to grow out of the water. It spun slowly. It seemed to bulge in certain places and become translucent. When it stopped revolving and floated gracefully over to Link, it looked like blown glass.

"A remnant vessel…" Midna murmured quietly. "We must fill it before we can return the life back into this world."


	14. Part 2, Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Redemption

Impaz looked out of her window worriedly. Three burly looking goblin-like creatures stood patiently outside of her house. "Stupid Moblins…" she muttered. One of the Moblins looked towards the frail woman suddenly. It bent down quickly and grabbed a fairly large sized rock. Impaz scurried to the side of the window as it shuddered under the impact. After the laughter of the Moblin's died down she walked hesitantly over to the window. She examined it; it had held, but there were several nasty looking cracks that crossed though the glass. She sighed and walked over to the terrified young woman who was huddled in a corner.

"W-what's happening?" she asked, tears coming to her eyes.

"Were fine," Impaz replied calmly. "But we'll need to leave as soon as possible."

"Why?"

"Because we won't be fine here much longer!" Impaz said impatiently.

"How are we going to leave, those things outside won't let us."

"I have some other ways to get out." Impaz stated, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

The woman nodded her head and sniffled.

"Everything will be fine, just do as I do."

They held eye contact for a moment. Impaz saw in the girl's eyes were vacant of anything other than fear. Her eyes shone dully and they quickly flickered away from her site. Impaz shook her head and removed her hand from the girl's shoulder. She walked confidently over to a section of the wall that looked no different than any other place in the wall. Her fingers played over it for a moment and then seemed to congregate on a hairline crack. Her long nails dug into the crack and she heaved her body over to one side. The secret door slid back to reveal a small passage. She signaled silently for Illia to come forward.

Illia shook her head in fear as she inched away from the strange, magical door.

Impaz went over and hauled Illia up, using surprising strength for an old woman. "Come, there's nothing to be frightened of." she murmured comfortingly.

Illia clung onto Impaz fearfully as they walked through the confined, darkened corridor. She tripped slightly and almost threw them both to the ground. Impaz held firm and supported the frightened girl. A shattering noise cracked behind them. Illia turned around, letting go of Impaz. Impaz grabbed the girl and started to walk faster. "They're bored, they'll be coming after us soon…" she explained.

Illia nodded and scurried ahead of the aged woman. The end of the corridor was visible now, it was growing dark. The sunset made the pale girl's skin glow like that of an angels. She turned her head and let out a small smile. "You are a good friend, thank you."

"You're very welcome, Illia." Impaz responded.

A look of confusion planted itself on the girl's face. "Illia? Who's Illia?"

Impaz sighed; she had forgotten that little incident with the wooden staff. "It's your name." she explained as simply as possible.

"Nonsense!" Illia dismissed with a flick of her head as she started outside. "My name is—" she stopped and took a sharp intake of breath. She turned around to face her friend. "I can't recall my name." she thought for a bit. "I am certain, though, that it is not Illia!" she shouted defiantly.

A loud curse came from inside the house. Impaz's eyes grew wide with fear and she ran to Illia. She pushed her as far away as her strength would allow her too. "Hurry, dear, run to the south east!"

Illia looked at her quizzically.

"Run along the path and turn right towards the big castle. When you get there, ask for the doctor!" she shouted as she turned to run back inside the house.

Illia heard a mean voice shouting from inside the passageway, it sounded familiar. Her body froze at the sound of the gravelly voice; her body associated the voice with pain. Her legs commanded her to move, and she ran for her life.

Midna grimaced in distaste as she grabbed onto Link's think fur. They sped along through the trees following a strange apparition. In Midna's eyes it was only a faint spark of electricity, but to Link's it was an unusually large bug. Midna leaned down next to Link's ear and fairly shouted "How could you _lose_ it, this is the last one!"

Link growled in response and pushed on after the bug. He jumped forward and snapped his jaws out towards the bug, but it skittered away with unnerving speed.

"Get it!" Midna commanded in frustration as she loosened her grip on Link.

Link paused and panted, he felt Midna's hand leave his neck fur. If a wolf could grin, Link did, he sped off so fast that Midna had no time to grab onto anything. She fell to the ground with a loud curse. Her hands still clutched the remnant vessel that they had been given. She looked into the balls of blown glass; most of them were filled with a quivering light. She stood up unsteadily and started to float quickly towards Link, who had successfully cornered the bug. He pounced on the bug and roughly shook it until it squealed in pain. Link dropped it to the ground where it shriveled quickly, light seemed to seep out of it. Midna came up and held the last empty vessel to the deceased bug. A humming sound emanated from the vessel as it vibrated slightly in Midna's hands. The light seeped into the vessel languidly. Midna looked over at Link. He sat with his ears cocked slightly crooked and his eyes drowned in smugness.

"You think you're so smart, don't you?" she asked sarcastically. "Why'd you throw me off?"

Link put an overly exaggerated look of injured innocence on his face.

"Don't even start that, I know you did it on purpose." she pouted.

The vibration of the vessel stopped suddenly; it was full. Midna saw a small pool of still un-gathered light lying near the bug, it rippled and danced like a puddle in a strong wind. She handed the vessel delicately over to Link. "Here, take it. I carried it all the way here, so you should have to carry it back."

Link nodded and took the vessel gently in its mouth, as if he feared it would break.

"I'll join you in a minute…" Midna added as she glided over to the puddle of light. She settled on the ground and leaned over the puddle. She glanced secretively over her shoulder, making sure Link was still dutifully carrying the vessel. She nodded, satisfied that Link would not see what she was about to do.

She dipped her hand tentatively into the light, a tingling sensation shot though her entire body. She cupped both her hands and brought up some of the light to her eye level. She smiled as it started to shine comfortingly, and she raised it above her head on an impulse. The light seemed to shower down, like a rain of fireflies. For a moment, she felt like she was her normal, un-cursed self again. She felt the cold twilit wind on her face, her body became elongated and normally proportioned. Her face felt narrower, and she could see more clearly with her eyes. She laughed softly as the light continued to pour upon her uncovered head. Her mouth parted slightly and her upturned face shone in the light she had gathered. Her eyes closed and warmth seemed to spread from her fingers all the way down to her toes. Excitement coursed through her veins as she started to hope that she could be saved from her horrible curse.

Link heard a small laugh and turned around to see a strange appearance. A very tall, blue-skinned woman stood, her arms upraised, gathering the spilled light. It showered her, enshrouding her in a mist through which he could not see clearly. His eyes focused on the figure, her face was very beautiful. He found her face familiar, yet he knew that he would have never forgotten such a face as this stunning creatures. He started towards her, and stepped on a twig. A loud crack broke the reverie. The woman turned around and dropped her hands down, letting the light spill from her fingers and fall to the dead grass at her feet. Instantly, the woman vanished in a shroud of golden light that made Link squint. When he looked again, she was gone, and in her place sat a dazed and confused Midna.

"My tears have been gathered, the vessel is full, and all is now redeemed into the light…" a musical voice sung as the vessel disappeared underneath the lapping water of the spirit spring. The spirit spring became like liquid gold, and it chased the darkness away. Link's sensitive animal eyes were blinded, and he sat down in the water stunned. Liquid gold seemed to inch up his body and pull him down to rest in its warm embrace. He obeyed without question, and looked up at the sky as the liquid covered his body. It was the bluest he had ever seen it. Only a few clouds dabbled in the sky, they seemed to float playfully in the cooling breeze that washed over the quivering water. It became cool and refreshing as it returned to its natural color. Link closed his eyes, letting a natural, dark sleep envelop him. As he drifted into a dreamless sleep he heard a soft voice say: "It was so nice in the Twilight… What's so great about this light anyway?"

Link wondered if Midna's sudden mood swing had anything to do with the creature he had seen before he drifted off to sleep.

"See you later…"

Link awoke to the sound of metallic humming. Link sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes, he wondered how long he had been sleeping for. He looked at the source of the humming; a golden ball of energy and light that was levitating slightly above the water. As he gazed upon the amazing and supernatural sight, a body seemed to form and curve around half of the ball. It hugged onto the ball as if for support. It looked like a strange species of monkey. A large tail curved around the other half of the ball and encircled the entire figure. The figure pulsated with the light and energy that came from the ball.

"I am Faron…" the spirit said solemnly. Its voice sounded different than Ordona. Faron sounded like a cool spring breeze rustling through the grass. It was slightly muffled and the song of small forest bugs and creatures seemed to make up half of the voice. "I am one of the spirits of light that dwells within Hyrule. I use the life force of the gods to protect this forest.

"O brave youth…" the figure paused for a few moments as it addressed Link. "In the land covered by twilight, where people roam as only shadows of their former spirits, you were transformed into a blue-eyed beast. That was a sign. It was a sign that the powers of the ancient one, the savior of Hyrule, dwells within you. His spirit is awakening. Look at your awakened form!" the spirit commanded gently.

Link looked down at himself, still expecting to see a wolf's body. Instead, he saw a human body garbed in strange, musty smelling clothing. He stood up unsteadily and looked at himself in his reflection. He wore a green tunic with leather and some chain-mail underneath. His hands seemed stronger, and they were covered by leather gauntlets. The left-hand gauntlet did not cover the back of his hand fully, and on it he saw the strange symbol that he saw when he first entered the twilight. It was not glowing or throbbing or causing any kind of discomfort, it only seemed like a tattoo. He gazed at it in wonder. Something hit the back of his head; he raised his hands to feel what it was. He wore a strange hat that hung down and reached his shoulders. His hands brushed the sword and the shield that were strapped to his back.

"The green tunic that is your garb once belonged to an ancient hero chosen by Nayru. His power is yours…his is the true power that slept within you. You're name is Link, and you are our hero chosen by Nayru, Din, and Farore." the spirt stated calmly. "Brave Link… A dark power rests inside the temple that rests inside these very woods. It is a forbidden power. Long, long ago, I and the other spirits broke the object that holds within itself the power to awaken all evil. We have locked it away for many years. Its guardians are now possessed by the power which we wish to destroy. Because of its nature it is a power that should never be touched by any being that dwells in the world of light."

Link heard Midna muttering some defense under her breath.

"This world weeps underneath the oppression of this dark shroud, and so there is no choice. You must fight the prince of darkness with the power of the shadows…" the figure grew sad, and its light seemed to fade. Its voice quavered in an emotion that Link could not guess: Was it fear? Anger? Hatred for this "prince of darkness?" He couldn't tell.

"Is that what he's calling himself these days?" Midna asked loudly. "The conceited fool!" she spat vehemently.

"Unfortunately the one of which you speak is only a puppet; a king ruled by a prince…" the voice said quietly.

Midna stayed silent and allowed Faron to continue.

"Proceed onto the temple within these woods if you wish to help Hyrule and fulfill the destiny that lies within you."

Link bowed respectfully towards the spirit and stepped slowly out of the spring. The figure smiled and nodded in acknowledgment before sinking into its home.

After the beast disappeared Midna perked up considerably. Her body was no longer solid because of the strong light that filtered through the trees. She seemed to be only a passing shadow with smooth edges that were not affected by the object she rested upon. "Well, well…So you're the chosen one and all that rubbish? _That's_ why you turned into a beast!" she said as she rested a hand on Link's human shoulder. "Shame, really…I mean, wouldn't it be so much easier if you were just the shadow of a spirit roaming through the peaceful and serene twilight?" she asked, a poetic ring in her speech. "You would be totally unaware of all that would happen in eternity, no cares for Hyrule, or for any light…"

Link noticed that the last words seemed to be spoken more to herself than to him.

"So, do you want to head to that temple? It would be the best to kill two birds with one stone. You promised to help me collect the thing I need, the power the spirit talked about. You also still need to save your friends. I think that if you traveled abroad and saved Hyrule, ultimately, you would save all of your friends as well." she explained.

"Yes, that would be the right thing to do."

"Then you'll come?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with thankfulness.

"Yes."


	15. Part 2, Chapter 10

**Well, I do have to say something before this chapter. Last chapter, Link was put in his "Traditional Garb." Little do people know, that his traditional garb has an eerie similarity to the Girl Scout uniform in Japan.   
I'm going to let _you_ think up the jokes for that one, but I'm sure there are many. **

**And also, thanks, I'm at sixty pages in a word document now, and over 1,600 hits (total) on this story. Thanks everyone for reading! **

* * *

Chapter 10: Realization

Link stretched his arms above his head in satisfaction. He was standing in a large room that seemed to be carved out of living wood. Cracks in the outer layer of the bark let the noonday sun light up the room. In the room were several small and unsteady looking pillars surrounding a large and very solid pillar. Midna sat on the solid looking pillar and stared down at Link. She couldn't hide the larger-than-usual smile that plastered her face. "That had to be the _weirdest_ thing I have ever seen." she stated with a giggle.

Link looked up at her and grinned. "What exactly is that?" he asked playfully.

She tried to hide her large smile and looked up at the wooden ceiling. "I've seen a lot of strange things in my life, but I've never seen a monkey that…odd looking…before."

Link grinned and leaned down to pick up the strange object that his late adversary had dropped. It was a boomerang with strange carvings all over it.

"This temple is infested with monkeys! I wonder if they're the protector's food source?" she smirked sadistically. "It doesn't matter anyway; the fact is that we beat that stupid monkey! He was starting to annoy me."

"I'm glad you're so thrilled." Link said as he studied the boomerang. "What do you think this is? I never saw the monkey use it…"

Midna glided down and peered at the boomerang. She traced a few of the markings with her sharp, claw like fingers. "These markings seem familiar; I think I've seen them a few times. They have something to do with the wind. Why don't you throw it and find out?"

Link nodded and raised his arm to throw the boomerang with. He aimed it above the door at a strange, windmill like device and threw it. As the boomerang soared through the air it seemed to spin unnaturally fast. The air gathered around it as it spun. It circled around the windmill device and returned to Link's hand. The windmill spun with the wind the boomerang had summoned.

"A gale boomerang…" Midna said, bemused. "That may come in handy."

"I'll say it will come in handy." a chattering voice interrupted them.

Midna whirled around so fast that she practically knocked the intruder off of its feet. The intruder was a small monkey who had been helping them throughout the temple.

"Please, there are only a few more of my brothers and sisters to help. I promise that after we are all freed we will help you get to the monster if you still want to."

Midna nodded curtly. "Fine then, but don't sneak up on us like that."

The monkey bobbed up and down a few times and then scurried to the door. "I truly am very sorry, may we go now?" it asked as it opened the door.

They both followed the monkey through the door. Midna tapped Link's shoulder before they left the room. "Aren't you thankful you were a beast? Now you can understand all these _wonderful_ monkeys." she said sarcastically.

"At least they are willing to help." Link added defensively.

Midna rolled her eyes and followed Link back into the dark depths of the temple of forest.

Several hours, and many thankful monkeys later, Link and Midna stood hesitantly at the door to the inner sanctum of the forest temple. Midna placed her hand on the door solemnly. "Are you ready for this?"

"Yes, this is what the Spirit commanded me to do."

"It is, but do you know what we'll be up against?" She asked.

Link put on a face of extreme thought, than snapped his fingers dramatically. "I've got it, a very large monkey!" he said with a grin.

Midna sighed and shook her head. "I don't think that monkeys are going to be our worries."

Link nodded ruefully. "There's nothing else to do though, we have to go in."

Midna nodded thoughtfully and opened the door. Link put on a resolute face and walked into the inner sanctum.

Steam rose from the pool of liquid that took up most of the floor. Small pieces of shrubbery were dotted about a small dry area not swallowed up by the liquid. The liquid was a foreign color of purple. The stench in the room made Link gasp for air as he entered. Midna entered directly behind him and was forced to jump into Link's shadow before the fumes made her suffocate. Link put his hands on his knees and tried to steady his breathing. The air smelled foul, like rotting corpses and fetid poison. He looked at the edge of the liquid to see several rotting corpses washed up at the edge of the water. His lips tightened as he shut his eyes to the gruesome site. He took a deep breath, fighting the urge to gag, and straightened up. He felt so sick that he dropped the boomerang to the ground and staggered forward a few steps. His eyes burned as hot tears flooded his eyes, making them sting like acid. The only sense that seemed not to have been assaulted as he walked into the room was his hearing.

A large vibration filled his ears and the sound shook him like a rag as he fought to stay upright. The large sound came again before Link had time to recover. He fell to the ground, repulsed at even having to touch the polluted ground. The sound of bubbling water diverted his attention as he stared out over the now roiling surface of the purple pool. A single green shoot of plant rose out of the water on his right side. It was curved so that both ends of the shoot were still under the water. The same thing happened on his left side. Both shoots seemed to be thin, and not anything threatening. He rose up to his feet and took a few deep breaths. The water started to bubble again, and the purple pool turned ominously brighter. Link backed cautiously away right before a huge shoot of green stem rose out of the depths. It was larger and considerably thicker than the other two but it was curved in the exact same way. Link got the eerie feeling that whatever was on the other end of the shoot, wouldn't be a flower.

His suspicions were confirmed a few moments later as three large, ugly looking carnivorous monsters rose up on the ends of the green stems. They had the same basic shape as a flower would, but instead of petals they had thick, leathery skin that closed up at the top, making a neat sack. The two smaller, side sacks opened up to show three rows of razor sharp teeth. Link didn't want to get close enough to see how big the teeth were in comparison with him, so he backed up to the door, only to find that it bars had slid down around it, blocking his passage out. The middle sack opened up slowly, revealing a sickening purple inside, with a single, solitary eye peering out at him through rows of deadly teeth. The sack lowered itself to the edge of the water and started to snake across the surface like a snake. It came as far as it could reach, and after straining a bit to get closer to its prey, it roared a huge, deafening roar. Link knew his sword would be useless in this kind of situation; he would be chomped on before he had even gotten one swing in. He looked around and saw his boomerang, would that help? He glanced frantically around for another weapon he could use, but found nothing. The only thing he found, was Midna a few feet away, poking a large, harmless looking bug who had been trundling through the battle obliviously.

"This is strange, Link, these bugs have not been eaten by the monster."

Link stared incredulously at her for a moment. "And what do bugs have to do with any of this? We're about to get eaten for Din's sake!" he screamed.

Midna cast an all-knowing eye at Link and then glanced at the straining monster. "It's not going anywhere, we're safe here, but we have to kill it."

"Why?"

Her eyes snapped back to Link. "Have you forgotten so quickly why we are here in the first place?" she asked angrily. "We're here to do what the Light Spirit asked you to do and to get that little shadow I want."

"Well, what do you suppose we do then?"

Midna tapped the bug again, it was becoming irritated with her. "I don't know, but I think that the boomerang will help us?"

"How will the boomerang help us, what's it going to do, blow dust in its eye?"

Midna snapped her fingers in excitement. She grabbed the bug and held it up in Link's face. It was round and had spindly legs which tried to kick out at Midna as she struggled to hold onto it. "We'll blow this in its eye!"

"What will that do?"

"Just try it, what else do we have to lose?"

"I could lose my boomerang."

"It's a child's toy anyway!" Midna snapped back as she dropped the bug.

Link sighed and aimed his boomerang so it was lined up with both the bug and the plant monster. He let it fly and the bug was carried neatly away into the monsters gaping jaws. Nothing happened.

"I told you nothing would happen." Link sneered.

An explosion emanated from the monsters mouth as it let out a scream of pain.

"See? 'I told you nothing would happen, I might lose my boomerang,' idiot." Midna mocked as she disappeared back into his shadow. "Now, just continue to do that and we should be fine, it can't take many hits like that."

Midna's assumption proved true, and soon the monster was looking very weak. It tried one more futile time to attack, but failed. It flopped onto the dry land with a gasp of exasperation. The two smaller heads sunk below the water level. Link walked up to the dying monster and drew his sword. He raised it above his head and struck hard and true into the monster's up-turned eye. Its mouth twitched in pain, but the blade had gone deeper than its body could take. It let out one last gasp of pain and then shriveled.

Midna clapped her hands delightedly as she surveyed the surprisingly peaceful scene. "Good, you killed the monster, where's the shadow?"

Link shrugged and looked around the darkened room. The corpse at his feet twitched. He jumped away from it nervously. Midna peered down at the shriveled body. It seemed to be dissolving. The dissolved smoke from the body took the form of a curved stone carving. The temperature of the room lowered considerably, and Link felt a shiver of dread run through his spine. The carving seemed to glow with darkness, as it floated sinisterly over to him. Link held out his hands to catch the object on an impulse but Midna caught the object before him.

"Give me that, it's dangerous for a light-dweller to touch such things." she chided as she cradled the carving she had longed for close to herself. "This is exactly what I was looking for, the first part of the fused shadows."

"The Light Spirit said that I needed this power to banish the prince of darkness…" he looked suspiciously at Midna. "So why do you want its power? Isn't it supposedly dangerous?"

"Supposedly," Midna said with an air of levity. "I'm wondering if this 'dark power' is really all that it will take to banish him."

"Is he that powerful?"

Midna laughed. "No, I really don't know how he got into so much power…" she said solemnly.

Link decided to let the issue slide for now.

"There are a total of three fused shadows, if you want the other two, than we should go back to Faron and ask where the next one is located. I'll keep hold of these for you."

"Thank you, yes we should go." he turned around and walked straight into the still barred door.

Midna smiled and flicked her wrist. The floor around them was replaced by darkness. Link looked down, alarmed at the sudden change. Blue runes danced lightly across the surface. "To Faron then," Midna exclaimed as they started to fall into the darkness.

Zelda felt the intricately welded bars of her single window press against her skin. They felt soothing to the touch. Her eyes traced the world of tranquil twilight sadly. It all seemed so dead and quiet, there were no sounds of a bustling city far below in the town. She looked out towards the distance were a faint glimmer of hope was visible: She could see the barrier of Twilight, Faron Province was free from the oppression of Twilight! She could see where the Light Spirit Faron's realm ended and the realm of Twilight began. It gave her the slight hope that her land would be rescued. Suddenly, her right hand started to throb. She looked down at it to see the faint outlines of a triangle glowing subtly. She felt something dark come into her for a moment. She couldn't concentrate on anything but the throbbing in her hand though.

Below Zelda's prison in the throne room, Zant felt the same evil stirring. His god was also restless. Zant fidgeted uncomfortably with the hem of his long, elegantly velvet robe. "What is happening?" he asked the empty room.

"A rebellion, a plot." the harsh voice of his god barked.

"What kind of plot, it must be one we can stop. What is this…feeling that I have?

"You feel an ancient power, it has been awakened. Or, at least…part of it has." the voice said, a little more gently this time. "And, yes, we can stop it."

"Who is leading the rebellion?"

"Do you expect me to know _everything_?" the voice asked.

"Well, you are a god…"

A sinister chuckle echoed around the room. "Maybe so, but this kind of rebellion I cannot sense, it is not by any normal human."

Zant rolled his eyes at the normally vague response and stayed silent.

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" the voice asked after a few minutes.

"This…power, it would probably be housed where?"

"Temples, anything of importance is always housed there."

"The closest temple to us is the temple in Lanayru, the water temple. I think that we should leave a few men to keep watch, and once they see someone enter into the temple, they should tell us so that we can kill the rebellion in an enclosed environment. No one will be able to get away then."

"Very good plan, and if that doesn't work, the monsters that inhabit the temple probably will defeat whoever wishes to awaken any power within them."

Zant nodded, confident that he was under control.

"I think Zelda knows more about us than we do."

Zant fought the impulse to roll his eyes, why was he so suspicious about Zelda?

"You should question her."

Zant sighed and hung his head. "I questioned her last week, she doesn't know anything! She's a pathetic, spoiled, little, brat that always had everything go her way! She's not smart enough to plan a rebellion."

"Better safe than sorry…" the voice taunted.

Zant sighed, knowing he would get no rest until he questioned the poor girl, and started off towards the stairs that led up to her prison.


	16. Part 2, Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Danger

Zelda's thin fingers laced themselves absently through the intricate bars of her window. She peered out, not really thinking. The silence around her was so oppressive that she could hardly stand it. She bit her lower lip and turned her head to look at the sparse furniture in her prison. The sound of tired footsteps brought her attention to the door. She glanced outside at the sun, searching for a hint of the time. The guards were fairly regular in their tireless rounds. This was not a regular visit. She self-consciously crossed her arms and tensely leaned on the window sill. The footsteps stopped outside of her door, whoever was visiting her paused for a few seconds to gather himself. The silence in the room grew to an almost deafening level, and Zelda felt her pulse begin to race. The throbbing in her hand seemed to be growing stronger with each beat of her heart. Her unusually wet eyes were opened wide in curiosity, who was this man who could elicit such physical changes in her without even looking at her? The sound of a key turning in the lock grinded painfully in her ears. The doorknob turned slowly one click at a time. It opened squeakily on its rusty hinges as a tall figure stooped to enter the room. It was Zant. A look of confusion spread across Zelda's features. She had been questioned many times by Zant, but she had never felt in this way. Her knees buckled as she looked into the cold, insane eyes of her imprisoned. They were not Zant's eyes. Her mouth opened as if to say something, but no sound came out. Her eyes fell in shame at her weakness and she fidgeted uncomfortably under his gaze. Her mouth was still open in shock as she finally got control of her voice. "W-who are you?" she asked in a cracking voice.

A smirk crossed Zant's familiar features. "I thought you would know me by now, Princess. I'm Zant of course." he said with mocking respect.

"You aren't…" she insisted as her pulse began to spike. Her hand throbbed painfully and she glanced up at the ceiling in pain. Heat started to emanate from her hand. She glanced down at it in alarm to see that it was glowing faintly. She tried to hide it from Zant's gaze but he had already seen it. With alarming agility he lunged forward and grabbed her hand. The surprise at his forwardness shook her off balance and she grabbed onto the window sill behind her for support. He yanked her hand forward, one hand supporting it roughly. The other hand caressed the tracing of the triangles delicately, almost fondly. The monsters eyes glittered in greed as they glanced up into the woman's face.

"What is this?" he said, his voice no longer sounding like a Twili.

Her eyes widened in fear, every time her heart beat it shot of pain throughout every vein in her body. Her face turned upward, trying not to make eye contact with this strange demon. "You're hurting me…" she gasped as he tightened his grip on her hand. She felt his eyes trace up her arm and onto her body.

"You never answered my question."

"Please…" she gasped. "Stop,"

"Tell me."

"I-I don't know!" she screamed out in pain.

The pain subsided for a moment, and she leaned in relief against the wall. Sweat poured down her face, mingling with tears of pain.

The voice was menacingly calm, cold, and calculated. "You aren't a very good liar." his hand gripped her tighter as the pain started to run through her body again. "Tell me."

Her eyes rolled back in her head and her body started to shut down, the pain was too much. He drew closer to her, his hand letting her hand drop as he grabbed her arm. Another hand reached up and covered her face, his fingers parted so she could still see. The pain immediately stopped, and she felt a tingling sensation as her eyelids grew heavy. For a moment, her eyes saw a man's hand instead of a Twili hand. It had dark brown skin and the fingers were thin but strong. Just as suddenly, the hand flashed back into the Twili's claw-like hand. She felt her feet obeying the tug of her oppressor without question, her face was still covered. The tingling sensation and her urge to shut down disappeared as he let go of her and shoved her roughly so she toppled onto the bed. Her feet were still firmly planted on the ground and her upper body was painfully twisted so she had landed on her stomach. She lifted her upper body and supported herself with her elbows. She glanced over her shoulder at the man who now stood menacingly over her.

"You know many things that you refuse to say." he said, his voice changing even more from the usurper's voice. The voice sounded richer and cooler, like a snake sliding through velvet. "You would make it much easier if you just told me…" he threatened, he seemed to be enjoying the thrill of his interrogation.

The effect was eerie; the high-strung, slightly spastic Zant was gone. In his place was a monster who enjoyed seeing the pain in others and was very powerful. He seemed faintly familiar. Her hand still throbbed in pain from where the etchings of the Triforce still glowed. Her eyes widened in recognition and she let out a gasp. The voice behind her laughed softly as he rested a hand on her shoulder. "So, you have figured it out?" he asked her.

Zelda was so numb in shock that she could not utter a sound. She hung her head in despair; she had read so many horrible things about the man who stood behind her. Fear seemed to bath in every pore of her body. She opened her mouth faintly, fresh tears coming to her eyes yet again. "Y-you're dead…" she said in denial.

The man laughed and tightened his grip on her shoulder. "If I were dead, miss, then why do you have Nayru's gift?" he asked.

She did not respond, but shuddered under his grasp. He tugged at her shoulder so that she was forced to face him. His hand lightly traced her arm up to her chin. His fingers caressed her chin as he lifted her chin so that she had to look into his dead eyes. She shuddered, repulsed at his touch. She noticed that his hands were devoid of any human heat. Her eyes widened in horror as his hand traced her face to her cheek, caressing her almost tenderly. Their faces were nearly inches away from each other. "Why don't you tell me who you're little friends are." he said.

She tried to sink deeper into the bed to get away from the Twili's body with the demon soul. "No…" she whispered.

He brought his face towards her ear, his lips nearly touching her skin. His hot breath ran down her neck. "It would be in your own best interest to tell me…"

Her sensed were assailed by the smell of hot spice and death as she tried in a futile attempt to push him away.

"Do you know what I said to your great 'queen' when she was foolish enough to try to destroy me?" he asked tauntingly as his hand left her face and was placed disturbingly close to her body. "She never wrote it down did she? She wanted to forget…fool. I told her that I would see the blood of her children spilled before me!"

Zelda started to shake her head and struggle harder against him, but he was not to be moved.

"She will not be able to see what is going to happen to you and anyone who is helping you, unfortunately. But I will fulfill the rest of my promise, that her descendants would curse the very day she was born." he continued in his macabre retelling.

Gallons of tears seemed to pour from her eyes as she pleaded for the curse to stop.

"But, if you were to tell me exactly who is helping you…" he added as his hand traced her imprint on the bed. "I could spare you. I was always fond of Zelda…and I might spare you in her memory…" he said with a seductive smile.

She had tried to keep a relatively cool head, but now she went into full panic mode. He let go of her and let her spring off of the bed and run to the far corner of the room. She cowered in fear as she slid down the wall and sat, crumpled on the floor. He reclined against the bed for a few minutes, staring at the shivering victim on the floor. He stood up slowly and stretched. "It's a shame, I didn't really want to hurt you." he said with a smile that contradicted everything he said. He walked slowly up to her and hauled her roughly to her feet. He struck her hard across the face and she fell onto the wall in shock. Without giving her time to recover he punched her in the stomach.

She bent forward and gasped in pain, her knees buckled as her veins turned to throbbing rivers of fire. As she fell she felt the Twili's claw like hands rip into her scalp.

Five hours later a dazed Zant stared at his soiled hands. He sat slumped in his throne, his face a paler color than usual. A bloody whip fell from his fingers and clattered to the floor. "What _was_ that?" he asked softly in disbelief.

"What was what?" the rich voice echoed around the room smugly.

Zant couldn't take his eyes off of his hands which were stained with the young woman's blood. "Who are you?" he asked in horror. "I thought you were a god, a god of the Twilight. What are you? What did you do?"

"I got you the information you desired."

"I didn't desire it at that price though!" he shouted in fear. "I also didn't care that you possessed me!"

"You will never be a good leader if you are afraid to get your hands dirty." the voice added.

Zant's hands traced over the long scratches in his face where Zelda had tried to fight back. "Why?"

"That is the only way to deal with Hylians, they are good for nothing."

Zant realized he wouldn't get any real answers out of his mysterious god. He sighed and cradled his head in his hands, wondering what he had gotten himself into. This god seemed to have changed over the past few months that he had been in power. The god seemed to be growing more bitter and powerful every day. "She knew you…how?" he asked suddenly.

"I have a…reputation…among most Hylians." the voice said proudly.

"She said you were dead, why?"

"Because, that's what they were told. The people ordered to execute me failed, so they covered their failure up with a bunch of deceitful lies, as usual. That's all they ever did. This entire land is just a lovely tombstone over a lot of rotting graves. The Hylians put themselves on a pillar and refuse to be brought down."

"You call them Hylians, but you used to call them light dwellers…why?"

The voice grew silent.

Zant sighed. "Why is it, that when I ask you a really difficult question, you always leave?" he asked the now empty room.

Link seeped out of the darkness and landed in front of Faron's Spirit Spring. The spring glittered happily as Link got his bearings. "Heroic Link…" the pleasant voice sung in praise.

Link smiled at the happiness and pride that exuded from the spirit spring.

"I am truly sorry to have to tell you this…" the voice added. "But, do not think that Hyrule is saved from the spread of the Twilight. Leave these woods and go to the west. You will find the land protected by the spirit Eldin. There you will find the people of whom you seek. But know that these lands lie enshrouded in twilight. Those lands are now a dark realm covered by the clouds of dusk. If you set foot beyond the curtain of twilight you will revert into your beast form. Hero chosen by the goddesses, please go to the west and recapture the tears of my brothers."

Link nodded and bowed respectfully to the spirit spring. He backed away slowly and started down the long, winding path towards Eldin.

"Well, this is easier than I thought. The light spirits do all the thinking for us!" Midna said as she floated along beside Link, tapping her head and winking. "Well, at least our job is easy…"

"Easy? You call fighting monsters easy?"

"It's easier than figuring out the tactics on how to defeat the prince of darkness." she said.

"Who is he?"

Midna bit her lower lip and averted her gaze from Link's questioning glare. "Truthfully, I'm not sure yet. The title sounds familiar, like an old story that I've read. I'm not sure though…"

Link shrugged and continued walking.

"Do you know where Eldin is?" Midna asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes, even though I've never left the barriers of Faron Woods, I know where it is."

"How?" Midna asked curiously.

Link grinned. "There's a very large, volcanic mountain that is in Eldin, it's easy to find."

Midna's eyes widened and she nodded her head. "Ok. Do you feel the need to help your friends immediately?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Maybe you could wait until you're done saving the Light Spirits and helping me get the Fused Shadows?" she asked tentatively.

"I could, but I want to make sure that they are all doing fine."

"I understand." Midna lied, she had never known friends.

The road they were following led right next to the Forest Temple. They could see its faint details blended into the sunlight-dappled forest. Suddenly, a splotch of light in front started to shimmer. There was no wind to stir the trees, yet the light still shimmered as if darkness was passing over it. The light started to rise from the ground and form a beast. It was a wolf. Its red eyes gazed at Link hungrily. Its mouth was slightly open as it panted in exertion. Saliva fell from the vicious looking teeth and spilled into small, golden pools at its feet. Link carefully reached for his sword and drew it out of its scabbard slowly. The wolf tensed up and went into a pouncing position.

"That is no mortal wolf…" Midna warned as she glided timidly behind Link. "It looks like it's made of the same thing the Light Spirit's are."

Link studied the wolf, why would the same force of the Light Spirit want to kill him? Link was not paying attention to the wolf because of this question. He suddenly felt the two front paws connect with his chest and he tumbled to the ground. His arms felt like they fell through the ground, he felt the cold ground pass through him and he tumbled into darkness.

When Link's eyes opened he saw nothing but white. He shook his head slowly and crawled painfully to his feet. He felt like a solid block of ice. He shivered as he heard the heavy panting of the wolf behind him. He did not look towards the creature but examined his surroundings. He took a few unsteady steps forward and felt like he was on solid ground. When he looked down he saw something that did not register with him: He was standing on the brink of a cloud. He gasped and backed away quickly from the edge of the massive cloudbank. It was a stunning sight. The moon shone above, lighting up the cloud like a massive ball of ghostly snow. He reached down and sunk his hand into the cloud and brought up a small puff of cloud. He forgot about the wolf for a few moments and looked at the amazing site before him. The cloud bank was on the border of Hyrule and the outside world. He heard the sea roaring below him but could not see it. The cloud made a sheer drop where dry land in Hyrule first started. He saw the entire land spread out before him like a map. In the distance he saw the watchtower that looked out over the deserts. The large castle stood out majestically over its surroundings, it looked imposing even from this height.

"It is an amazing sight. And it is what we are duty bound to protect." a gravelly voice said from behind him.

Link turned around in shock and saw the skeleton of a man standing where the wolf had been. It was grey with age but seemed like it was still sturdy. The bones had ragged clothing on them. In any other situation Link would have found this apparition scary, but he was surprisingly peaceful. The skeleton was also clothed in armor, with heavy boots, an elegant helmet and a cracked shield. It drew a sword and advanced on Link.

"Show me how I will teach my successor." it commanded with the authority of a king.

Link drew his sword obediently and put himself in an inexperienced fighting pose. He ran forward, hoping to catch the skeleton off guard. The skeleton deftly jumped to one side and rammed the hilt of his sword into Link's forehead. Link fell back with a grunt and shook his head, dazed.

"A sword holds no strength unless the hand that wields it contains courage."

Link got up and put himself in his fighting stance but the skeleton lowered his sword into a friendly stance.

"You may be destined to become the hero of Legend…but your current power would be a disgrace to the honorable green tunic you wear."

Link's eyes narrowed in determination.

"You must use your courage to seek power…and find it you _must_." the skeleton intoned with feeling that infected Link like an infatuation. "Only then will you become the hero for whom this world despairs. If you do find the courage, and you wish to save Hyrule from the horrific fate that awaits it…" he paused and looked at Link expectantly.

Link, not really knowing what he was doing, held the sword in a warrior's salute.

The lifted its head higher as if to signify approval. "Only then shall you be worthy of the secrets I hold."

Link nodded and bowed to his new teacher. The skeleton bowed as well and rose up into a fighting stance. "Enemies that are full of energy shall attack again and again even after getting stunned, the ending blow is the secret technique that you unwittingly used to kill the plant monster. This technique can end the breath of stunned enemies before they gather their wits to attack. When an enemy is stunned than you must hold the sword above your head, the sword will guide your hand." with this, the skeleton dropped his sword and shield. "Now, try it on me."

Link was taken aback and took a few steps away from his teacher.

"I am not a living being anymore, my time is ended. I still have a job to do, and the only way to teach you is to have you practice on me!"

Link nodded, apparently losing the capability for speech in front of the brave warrior who stood before him, and raised his sword.

After a few minutes of slashing and stabbing the skeleton signaled Link to stop. "You have learned this new skill surprisingly well. This sword may not be the sword that is fit for a hero, but it will guide you well on your journey. When you have learned some more of my skills I will tell you where to get the sword that is destined to banish all darkness, even its prince, from the land." he said encouragingly.

"Thank you." Link said with a smile and a bow.

"Now go and continue you're mission. I will see you again."


	17. Part 2, Chapter 12

**I would just like to say two things to my readers. 1: I won't be able to update in the afternoons (my time, EST) anymore, my church schedule interfeeres with it. 2: I was kind of looking forward to seeing if you guys had any comments on chapter 11, since that was my favorite chapter. But noooo, do I get any comments? .> You guys are boring... no debates, no hate mail, no fan mail... sniff I'm so unwanted.   
And no, that was not a cough shameless advertisement cough for getting comments. Why would you think that? **

* * *

Chapter 12: Antiquity

Dark red liquid poured down Zelda's sore throat. Her hair was pulled back to keep its tangled mass out of her face. Her face had a resigned look as she set the crystal vial on the small table in her room.

"Can you walk?" a concerned female voice asked.

Zelda took a few steps, her hands supporting her by pressing into the table. Each step seemed to send a knife through her body. She gasped and stopped moving, her body quivered under the stress of her injuries. Two strong arms grasped her under the arms and supported her as she recovered her breath. The Twili attendant led Zelda over to a cushioned chair that the healer had put in the room for comfort.

"Thank you." Zelda said weakly with a small smile as she flopped down into the couch, wincing as her back brushed the rough fabric.

"That potion will take effect in a little while. It will make your back heal faster and it will minimize discomfort." the attendant said to Zelda as she gathered up a few of Zelda's scattered clothes from around the room. She stuffed them unceremoniously into a small wardrobe that stood in the room. "I will have a new dress made for you."

Zelda nodded and leaned back painfully in the chair.

"Do you need anything?"

"Yes, I would like to get a book from the Library." she said in a very exhausted voice.

The attendant bowed respectfully and backed away towards the door. "Which book would you like? I will try to get it."

"It is in the library, it is a special book. It has no name, but it is in the diary section. It is bound in dark purple material. It has an archaic symbol on it, one of the ancient Hylian symbols. There is no other book like it in the entire library."

The attendant nodded and opened the door, slipping out quietly. The door clicked closed and Zelda closed her eyes in relief. The door opened again quickly and her attendant's narrow, blue face peered around the door.

"Sorry miss, what exactly is the book about? I may have to answer some questions."

"It is a diary written by one of my ancestors, it is about the imprisoning war and the events that won the final battle."

The attendant nodded and walked away, thankfully she was ignorant of most Hylian history. If she had known she probably would not have been brave enough to get the book for her. Zelda felt the potion begin to make her sleepy. Any pain her back felt seemed to melt away until she was fast asleep.

An hour later the door to Zelda's room opened slowly. Her attendant glanced around to see Zelda sleeping in the chair, her head bowed to her breast that heaved up and down, heavy with sleep. The attendant smiled and crept into the room as quietly as a spirit. She clutched the awkwardly long, purple book in her arms. She had been able to get it with no questions asked, just her luck. She walked up and placed the book on the small table next to Zelda's outstretched hands, where she could reach it when she woke up.

Illia's broken shoes dragged conspicuously on the rough cobblestones as she wondered around the spirit realm of what used to be Hyrule town. The town was deathly silent, even though many people seemingly roamed the streets. Because Illia was one of them, she could not see that they, like herself, were translucent and had a faint green tint. No one talked in the market square; they did not make eye contact either. Each seemed to be on his or her own life or death mission. Illia's eyes wandered around as she strolled aimlessly through the town. Her feet were sore and she sat on the edge of a dry fountain. She gazed up at the sky enshrouded in twilight. It seemed very majestic to her, and for a moment she forgot what she was supposed to be doing. A hand on her shoulder broke her reverie.

"Dear, what are you doing? Are you lost?"

Illia looked over at the person to see a homely looking, large breasted female. From her face you could tell she was not used to looking as serious as she did now. Her dark reddish-brown tresses were held back in a puffy bun that was slightly askew. She wore heavy makeup, but she looked good-natured. "Yes, I am…"

"What is your name?"

She thought for a moment. "I don't really know I heard someone call me Illia…" she said doubtfully.

"Well, that doesn't matter. It isn't safe to be outside nowadays. Come with me."

"I-I'm supposed to find someone!"

"Who is it dear?"

"I don't remember."

The woman nodded sympathetically. "Let me take you to my place, that's where all lost souls go. I'm sure something there will jog you're memory." the woman offered.

"What is your name?"

"Telma," the woman stated.

"That is a pretty name."

"Hurry child," Telma said, pulling Illia to her feet. "You cannot stay here any longer, I will take you home."

Illia nodded and walked with the friendly woman off into the alleys of the city.

They arrived in a hot and steamy tavern a few minutes later. Illia glanced around; there was a group of earnest looking people off to one corner, debating in hushed whispers about something undoubtedly important. A small blue mass lay on one of the small benches that scattered the almost deserted tavern. Telma immediately walked over to the blue mass and caressed it softly. "Poor thing…" she murmured comfortingly as the mass moved around uncomfortably.

Illia walked over to Telma curiously. "What…" she gasped as she saw a somewhat human face in the blue mass. As she looked closer she saw that it was a small boy with fins that stuck out at odd places in his body. Studs of jewelry glittered in the dim light as the young boy struggled at Telma's touch.

"Don't worry darling, nothing's going to hurt you now."

"Who is it?" Illia asked quietly.

"He is a young Zora, I do not know exactly who. His articles of jewelry seem to show that he is of a noble family to say the least."

"A Zora?" Illia asked, ashamed at her ignorance.

"It's a kind of creature that lives up near the mountains. They protect Lake Hylia, which has suddenly stopped flowing and has been evaporating alarmingly. We fear that something may be wrong with the Zoras. They are part human and part fish, they are amazing to behold in the right conditions."

Illia nodded. As Telma got up and clapped her hands resolutely. "I need to go get a doctor for the poor boy. He might also want to see you to make sure nothing's been happening to you."

Illia's eyes widened as she searched her person frantically for the staff which she had been keeping this entire time. "The doctor, that's who I was supposed to see!" she screamed in happiness. She held up the staff that Impaz had thrust into her hands and showed it importantly to Telma.

"What is it?"

Illia looked confused. "You don't know?"

"No."

"Before Impaz got alarmed and told me I had to leave, she said that I was to give this to the doctor…and to see him about my condition."

"What condition?" Telma asked uneasily.

Illia shrugged. "I can't really remember anything."

Telma sighed and picked up the staff, gripping it tightly in her manicured fingers. "Fine, you might as well come with me, I don't want you wandering off or bothering my guests."

Zelda felt a cold hand touch her face delicately. Instead of waking with a start, she only stirred enough to open one eye and look at whoever was touching her. She blinked a few times and shook her head, but it was too much of an effort. The fingers played about her face tenderly and made Zelda lose any tension she had. "My Child," a silvery voice kindly addressed her. the voice was a woman's and it seemed to have the weight of much wisdom and even more memories. "You must come with me."

Zelda's limbs went numb and she sank deeper into the chair. "Where?" she murmured as she closed her eyes again.

The hand pressed gently against her cheek as the voice spoke again. "Into the past…"

Zelda flicked her eyes open before she completely lost consciousness. She saw a woman standing next to her. Her mane of blond hair spilled over her shoulders and hung around her waist. She seemed to be slightly translucent, and her eyes were a deep blue. She wore the authentic dress that a queen would have worn in the ancient days. The figure smiled down at her with mercy, "You must come" she said as Zelda surrendered herself to the faintly familiar apparition.

Zelda did not feel her body; it felt like she was nothing but a puff of smoke floating through the distant memories that were long forgotten. Her eyes were focused on the woman laying perfectly still on the ground. The woman looked almost exactly like the apparition she had just seen except that the hair was not quite as long and she seemed much younger. Her body moved up and down with the effort of her breathing. Her back pressed up against a large window, Zelda peered out. A dark, ruined city sprawled out before her. It all seemed faintly familiar. Behind her she heard a scream of pain and the clatter of steel on stone. She turned quickly and the body at her feet stirred in wakefulness. Before her in the center of a large room stood a ghastly looking black throne, it's cushions were crimson red. A few feet from the large throne stood a dark man with a flowing, velvet cape that seemed redder than the crimson throne. His dark, tight fitting armor clanked as he walked towards his young opponent. Zelda could not see his face, but she knew who the man was immediately by his Gerudian traits; olive brown skin and dark red hair. A young man clothed in green fell to his knees beside the legendary shining blade he had so confidently wielded. Zelda heard a noise behind her and turned to see the woman fluttering her eyes, trying to gain consciousness while staying unnoticed by the two men in the center of the room. Zelda turned back to see the large Gerudian kick over his defeated opponent. The green garbed man did not resist but fell willingly and did not try to get up. Thousands of wounds trickled out life giving liquid. He groaned slightly. His adversary smirked and flashed his own, larger sword in front of his victim teasingly. "You should have obeyed me the first time, boy. I told you to return to your own time, but you did not listen. You had to try to defeat me…and you have failed."

Zelda gasped in the realization. She knew why this was so familiar. This was the final battle in the imprisoning war. The green clothed boy was one of the legendary heroes that rose up in times of tribulation. He was the best known, but went by the names of all the other heroes, Link. She turned around to see her own ancestor lying on the ground; Zelda. She knew now who the apparition was; the Zelda who was heir to the throne during the imprisoning war. She stepped away respectfully from the scene, this part had never been written down in the history books. Not even the diary she had requested went into full detail! She knew that her ancestor wanted her to see this for a reason.

The large, lethal looking weapon that Ganondorf held rose up to his own face level. Its keen edge flashed in the light from the windows. "You knew what failure would bring you…" he said to the boy calmly.

The woman that was lying on the ground suddenly sprang up and screamed in horror. She ran over to her fallen hero and threw herself over him. She sobbed in hopelessness as she hugged the man she loved. Tears of frustration came to her eyes, for she knew the man standing above her was devoid of mercy. She kept her head lowered, her tangled hair spilling into a golden pool at the dark man's feet. Her lips formed the word "please" but she dared not say them out loud. The cold prick of steel touched her chin gently, lifting it up so she was forced to look at the man. His gaze seemed to look into her very soul as she froze.

"Why do you beg if you know that you have no chance?" he asked, an amused curiosity lacing his voice.

She did not reply but lifted her chin off of his sword point and lowered her eyes to the floor again.

The man smirked and touched her shoulder with the steel toe of his boot. "Get up, and I will spare you."

"I do not care, you must spare him." she replied with no emotion.

"His life is meaningless, he has lost."

She fell silent for a time, Ganondorf waited patiently for the girl to make up her mind. She suddenly seemed to relent, her arms came slightly out from under herself but her hands were still concealed. She started to rise up onto her knees. With a sudden slash she brought her upper body up, along with the master sword. She gritted her teeth in a mix of concentration and disgust. The sword hit its mark true; there was no chance to miss at such a close range.

The sword sank into Ganondorf's flesh, but he felt no pain. The Triforce of power pulsated in his hand, allowing him to step forward towards the shocked princess. His strong hands grabbed her, a spark of electrical magic seemed to jolt from their separate pieces of the Triforce. He hauled her up to his eye level, which left her feet several painful inches from the floor. Her eyes were wide with fear as her arms and legs stopped struggling.

"I will not kill you," he hissed in her face. "No, I have something much worse planned for you. You shall hear the souls of your descendants cursing your name for angering me. Their blood will pour before your own tormented soul like a massive river. They shall hate you for everything you have ever done." he continued with his curse. "No matter what they die for, their deaths will be futile." he smiled at her and continued with the words he knew stung her to her core. "Just like the deaths of your parents."

Zelda struggled out of Ganondorf's grasp and put her long, elegant fingers on the hilt of the large master sword still lodged in the man. She ripped it out, not noticing that no blood was on the blade. She took a step back, threw the sword behind her and swung with all her might at the villains head. The sword hit it's mark again and Ganondorf fell to the ground with a loud crash. She dropped the sword and ran to Link, not taking any joy in the fact that she had just killed an enemy who had been hunting her down for most of her life. She grabbed Link's hand and cradled his head in her arms. A blue hand took Link's other hand. Zelda looked up from her fallen hero in surprise to see the goddess Nayru smiling at her child.

"Zelda, you are very brave. You are the last living holder of the Triforce. Do you know what that means?"

Zelda nodded absently; she didn't care about an omnipotent power that had destroyed so many lives.

"What is it that you wish?"

Tears streamed down her face. "I want him back… I want everything back the way it was. I want everyone to be alive…" she said in her grief.

Nayru gazed down at the dead hero, "And so you shall have him back, you shall have everything back."

Zelda looked up into the eyes of the blue goddess. A green goddess, clothed in armor and holding a bow and arrow seemed to materialize out of the floor. A red goddess, Din, materialized out of the air and floated a few feet from the ground. "We shall give you everything back." they said together.

Zelda, observing the legendary ritual which allowed the bearer of all three Triforce pieces to make one powerful wish, saw something suspicious out of the corner of her eye. Din had backed away from the other two, and was now behind the fallen corpse of Ganondorf. Zelda gasped when she realized what the crafty goddess was doing. Her servant quivered slightly and then lay still. Din's lips curved into a smile. That was the last thing that Zelda saw before everything went black.

Zelda jolted awake, her chest heaving with the labor of her breathing. The potion had worn off and her back was on fire as she tried to move around in her chair.

"Do you know now why I had to show you?" a faint voice asked.

Zelda glanced around the room until her gaze fell upon the book. "Ganondorf has Din on his side…"

"Yes, my child. But there is always hope, never lose sight of that. Din is the goddess of the beings that dwell in the light world. Keep watch, for your savior shall emerge from the shadows. Ganondorf said I was a fool for not writing anything that happened down. I realize now that I was, but unwittingly, he has now given all of Hyrule hope for a new birth."


	18. Part 2, Chapter 13

**2000 hits, wow. I still can't believe it! Thanks everyone! I'm sorry for not getting a chapter out last week, exams were that week and I had no time to write. I didn't have much time this week either (that's why this chapter stinks) I was at a day camp and I was so tired by the end of the day that I could barely crawl into bed, let alone write! I really am sorry. Also, all my updates will be on Saturday (my time) from now on.   
Thanks again you guys, the stats really encourage me to keep going, and I'm glad you guys deal with the horrible chapters like this one. **

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Chapter 13: Darker Sides

Link felt like a savage monster as his teeth sunk into the black flesh of his enemy. His fang-like teeth glistened red as he tore at the monster who screamed at his feet. Midna looked down at Link with a bemused expression, ignoring the gruesome sight. She patted Link's fur absentmindedly as the creature crumpled to the ground with one final scream of pain. She stared up at the majestic, dark clouds that shrouded the land in twilight. If it weren't for the horrible monsters in this world, it truly would be an amazingly beautiful site. It was stronger than normal twilight in the realm of light. Any colors that were visible in the darkness were accentuated in such a way that they seemed to glow with a light of their own. The sky, when it was able to be seen, was a deep, russet yellow. It contrasted breathtakingly with the purple clouds that roiled over its surface. "I love this world…" she said quietly.

Link sat down and stared at the beauty around him. He panted slightly in agreement with Midna.

Midna smiled and fondly played with one of his ears. "We aren't in Eldin yet. We've just arrived back in my realm. We should hurry if we want to save your friends."

Link rose from his haunches energetically and started to run with unnaturally fast speed through the shadows of the twilight. Midna's claw-like fingers clutched the shaggy hair around his neck and she leaned into the wind. She closed her eyes and took in the exhilaration of running at the speed of a blessed beast. For a moment she seemed to be free from her cursed bonds, she forgot the troubles of the world and enjoyed the realm she would one day rule again.

Link sensed a change in his companion and ran faster, her ecstasy sped his feet along faster so they flew over the ground like they were spurred by the goddess Farore herself.

Dark, heavy mist hung over the spirit spring of Eldin as Link trotted up to the spring at the base of the mountain. A desolate and seemingly deserted town lay barren around him. Midna looked around uneasily. "It seems so dead, you can hear the sound of the small amount of wind echo around the buildings." she stated.

Link paused to listen; Midna was right. It made the desolate town seem like it was singing it's own dirge. He looked around and saw that the wind was strongest around the graveyard, he had heard many legends about that famous graveyard. He shuddered to think that the legends might become true in the twilight. A slithering, juicy sound interrupted the eerie song. Link jumped and turned quickly to see three of the dark creatures with tentacles spread over their face coming up behind him. His body tensed as he started to growl menacingly.

"Not these guys _again_!" Midna exclaimed in frustration. She raised her hands and shot three orange beams out of her helmet. "Attack them now Link, I have them held in place."

Link jumped on one of the creatures and dispatched it amazingly quickly. He followed with the two others; it went considerably quicker than usual. Midna dusted her hands off as the last beast fell. "That was quicker wasn't it?" she asked confidently.

"To…the…Hero that…was transformed…into…a blue-eyed beast…in the shadows…" a faint voice called hauntingly. Link saw a faint drop of golden light break the surface of the dark, suffocating water. "I…am a spirit of…light. The protector…of Eldin." the voice said weakly. The voice sounded powerful even while it was faint. It sounded strangely strong, like it would have died a long time ago if it had not been so strong. The tone was gravely, like rocks grating on rocks, but the syllables were clipped and short like a hawk's cry. It was an interesting mix, and it wasn't unpleasant. "Hero chosen by the gods…" the spirit continued, gathering strength as it spoke. "Return to me my light, gather my tears inside my vessel. Restore me…" The drop of golden light seemed to mold and take shape to look like the last vessel that he had collected the tears of light in. He respectfully stepped into the water and took the vessel lovingly in his teeth.

"Thank you…" the voice sighed in relief.

Link backed respectfully out of the water and bowed humbly to the now invisible spirit.

Midna dangled her short legs over the roof of a house that was methodically boarded up. She nodded in satisfaction when she saw Link coming over to her with the vessel of light in his teeth. "Good, it's the same process as last time."

Link put down the vessel and stared up at his strange companion with a questioning gaze.

"I hear voices coming from below in the house. I think we should go and see. Don't worry; they won't be able to see us. We are transformed by twilight, they are condemned by it; the difference gives both sides a disconnect." she explained at Link's worried look. She got up from her seat and pointed towards the center of the roof. "There's a hole there, we can fall into the house that way." she summoned up an orange limb that grabbed Link gently and lifted him up to the roof.

Link walked over the tiles of the roof, his sharp claws clacked loudly and Midna winced as if each sound would give away their presence. He looked over at her quizzically, as if to ask her why she was so worried about the noise if the people below were not able to hear them.

"I'm worried, the enemies we have fought so far…" she started to say, but she stopped suddenly and shook her head. "No, it's nothing. I'm sorry, continue on."

Link shrugged and leaned over the large hole in ceiling. He dropped down nimbly into the room that was filled with spirits. Link scanned their terrified faces. He instantly recognized Malo and Talo's tear-stained faces. But where was Colin?

Colin sat with his head neatly bandaged. Some of his caked and bloody hair fell over his face, covering one of his eyes. His limbs were limp as he leaned against the strong shoulders of their savior, Renado. His long, raven black hair was combed back from the broad and strong features on his face. His large, callused hands rested lightly on the long, flowing robe he wore. A girl that had the same kind of hair as Renado was fussing over Collin, not letting him have any rest. Her face was narrower, but her eyes and hair gave away that she was related to Renado closely. Beth, the girl who always hung out with Malo and Talo, sat in the corner her eyes swollen and red with her constant crying. Malo and Talo stood in the center of the room, giving off a false sense of bravado to ensure Beth.

"Cripes! I don't see any of those black brutes anywhere!" A rough voice said.

Colin's eyes flickered open and he stirred, sitting up unsteadily. The man turned around to look at the unusual group of children they had rescued. He smelled slightly of fire, and his red hair frizzed out dangerously all around his face. He turned back to the window and peered out with bloodshot eyes. "They've got to be hidin' somewhere, waitin' for their helpless prey to come out. Then they'll _feast!_" he said with obvious enjoyment.

Malo lost all sense of bravado and scurried over on his stubby, fat legs to cling to Renado's knees. Talo stood in the middle of the room, but after seeing the man turn around one more time and give him a maniacal grin and wink, ran to Renado in fear.

Renado cast a withering glance at his odd companion and grabbed the two boys' shoulders. "We are safe as long as we remain here, child. Be at ease."

"Oh yeah? I wonder if those monsters out there will agree with you…" the man interrupted with a humorless laugh. "They sure don't seem _that_ impressed with my bombs! How long do you think we can hold this pitiful sanctuary against beasts that strong? Do you actually think those ridiculous charms, incantations, and magic can save you? Once they attack, it's over!

"Remember the lady from the general store? Just one of those things attacked her, and a whole gang from the town went to save her! And what happened? She was already dead, and there were two more monsters waiting for the fools!"

Beth let out a loud anguished cry and covered her ears; she had been dealing with terror too much. She could not take anymore.

"You connecting the dots yet, sweetheart? It means that if we get attacked by them, then we'll be—"

"Barnes!" Renado shouted angrily. "Stop scaring the poor children, haven't you seen they know exactly what our situation is?"

Barnes tossed his head arrogantly and peered out of the window before examining their small sanctuary. He did not see the two twilit creatures that stood, unnoticed in their midst. "Look, Renado…all I'm saying is that it's too risky here! Ain't we got some other place to hide?"

"There is a cellar…" Renado said thoughtfully.

"You have a cellar? What do you keep down there, the bodies for your rituals? Where's the entrance?" he asked in rapid fire.

"The entrance is designed to be opened when all of the candles in this room are lit." Renado stated.

Barnes grabbed a stick and coaxed flames onto it from a few of the many fire-making tools he kept on his person.

"I would not do that if I were you…" Renado's daughter said with a secretive smile. She always loved taking any jab she could at Barnes. "When father sent me to secure the cellar I saw bugs that sounded like the beasts outside."

Barnes's face turned white under the layer of soot that always clung to him. He scurried away and put the flame out as if it had the power to burn down the entire sanctuary.

In the commotion no one had noticed Colin tottering unsteadily towards the weeping Beth. He leaned down, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. His eyes showed genuine concern, and he did not seem to care that her and the other boys would have left him for dead. "Don't cry, Beth, it will be ok."

Beth flinched at his touch, her guilt coming back to her. Tears flooded through her hands and wetted Colin's hand as she pushed him away.

"Link is coming to save us all!" Colin said confidently. His eyes shown with an innocent hope that nothing could break.

Beth looked at him incredulously. "How can you think that? Link is never coming for us."

Renado, his daughter, and Barnes looked at him with interested expressions. They did not interrupt the conversation with questions though.

"I can feel it!" Colin said, strength flowing through his voice.

Talo rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "You're so stupid, Colin. I never liked you in the village, and now I definitely don't like you. You are such a little kid. Grow up!"

Link stared with tortured eyes at Colin. He knew whatever he did; Colin would never know that he was standing right next to him. Midna patted his head sympathetically. "He knew you would come to save him, that boy has guts. How sad, to be right in front of someone and not be noticed at all. Ironic, isn't it?"

Link looked up, why did she have to rub salt in his wounds?

"We really are in the same boat, the ship of Irony." she let out a cruel laugh. "You are the chosen soul of the goddesses, and only that keeps you from turning into a spirit or a dark monster in the twilight. No one knows what you have done! You will be doomed to toil in obscurity until the end of time… How poetic."

Link growled at her.

"Oh, no need to get touchy! My position is much more tragic than yours. I do not wish to tell you about that though, it would only distract you from the task at hand. You're the kind of guy to worry about everything, I can see that. You have a lot of things on your mind. I can assure you that you _don't_ have to worry about Zelda or her safety. She chose this state of affairs after all…" she chuckled.

Link observed that the subject of Zelda had come up suddenly, almost like Midna was assuring something about herself by bringing Zelda's choices up. Link wished he could delve, or at least know why she was so bitter. The curse of the beast held his tongue, torturing him with the inability to speak.

"So, what are you going to do now, my lonely little hero? I think we should open up the basement… Those bugs are probably the things that have eaten the tears of Eldin."

Link nodded sadly and grabbed the small stick that was still slightly smoldering. Midna coaxed flame back into it with her claw-like fingers and they started their search for the bugs of Eldin.

Link gasped for air as he finally put his snout through the earth that smelt of fire and death. He dug and wiggled himself out of the hole he had dug and soon stood, panting in a small room. Cracked windows looked out with a commanding view over the abandoned village. He heard Midna struggling through the hole he had made to get into the house. Link allowed her to grab onto the thick fur around his neck and pull herself out. She held the vessel of light in one hand. She glanced around, annoyed. "I swear I heard a bug in here. Where is it?" she pouted.

Link examined the room, it was dirty and messy. It smelt of gunpowder and there were many dangerous looking boxes stacked along a few walls. A small fireplace was in one end of the room. He heard a small noise that sounded faintly familiar. He concentrated on the fireplace and soon saw movement. He jumped in excitement and started stalking the fireplace. Midna held the vessel of light ready, knowing that Link had spotted their prey. Link's nostrils burned with the smell of gunpowder, he felt like sneezing. He grabbed a stick with his teeth and signaled for Midna to give flames life. She did so obediently. Link tossed the stick into the fireplace quickly. A scream came from the fireplace and a very large bug flew out. It circled the room, trying to put out the flames that hungrily licked at its wings.

"That's not good…" Midna said as she saw a few sparks fall on the boxes in the corner. The boxes exploded violently and threw Link and Midna against the wall. "Look at what you did!" Midna screamed in alarm. "We need to get out now; this room is filled with explosives!"

Link feverishly looked for the hole he had made, but he couldn't find any. "Well, no matter how 'romantic' this is; I'm getting out!" Midna said bluntly and crashed through one of the windows.

Link followed suit just in time. The building exploded as Link's paws hit the ground and started running. Link was thrown to the ground in the explosion, but he wasn't hurt.

After a few minutes the fire burned down enough for them to look back and see—not one—but three pools of light that could be collected by the vessel. Midna laughed in relief and slapped Link playfully on the head. "Looks like you can do something useful! Without that explosion we never would have gotten the other two! I suppose there isn't a nicer way to hung these things… Well, you had to sacrifice someone's house to find the tears of light. I guess that's how the cookie crumbles." she said with a smirk. She glided over to the pools of light and let them seep into the vessel of light.

"My tears have been gathered, my light has been redeemed!" the gravelly voice of the spirit said.

Link opened his eyes and saw the golden liquid falling off of his now human limbs. "Thank you, young hero." the spirit said humbly.

Link bowed respectfully and was about to say something when Midna's voice interrupted him. "Aw, I was just starting to have fun! Don't forget that fused shadow, Link."

Link rolled his eyes in irritation and glared at his shadow which disappeared underneath the coating of gold which covered the spring. The gold quickly formed into the now familiar ball of energy and light. Its metallic hum throbbed rhythmically as claws started to form around it. Wings spread from the claws and flapped once. The wings were massive and made Link take a step back in wonder. An amazingly huge hawk perched on the ball of light.

"My name is Eldin." it stated in clipped, hawk-like voice. The sense of power and boulders and gravel were not gone from the voice, but they were overshadowed by the clipped, neat tone. The voice gave Link the opinion that this light spirit liked everything to have a very precise order. "I am the light spirit that protects this province in Hyrule. Oh great hero chosen by Nayru…The dark power you seek lies in the sacred grounds of the mountain dwellers." it nodded towards the tip of the volcanic mountain with its beak. "Those grounds have already become draped in the evil given off by the dark shadow. They are draped in it. You must go to those sacred realms and cleanse them as you have cleansed me. Before you can do this though, you must search out the wolf of light that you summoned with the howling stone. Without his help you shall not get past the first trial." the spirit informed.

Link nodded in understanding, he remembered communing with the howling stone and summoning the light wolf which had taken the form of his teacher in the clouds. It had been a very strange, yet lovely experience. "Thank you," he said with bow.

The hawk nodded and sunk into its spring slowly.


	19. Part 2, Chapter 14

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Chapter 14: Reunions

"Link?!" A small voice shouted as Link stepped away from the water.

Link looked over and saw the blond, bandaged head of Colin peering out of the door. Colin stepped through the door and started walking unsteadily towards their savior. Talo roughly pushed him aside, and Beth ran so fast towards Link that Colin was completely thrown to the ground. Colin frowned and looked at his scraped up hands. He bit his lip and looked away from Malo's disapproving glare as he snootily walked past him.

"Ha ha ha! See, Beth? I _told_ you he would save us!" Talo said with a broad grin.

Beth laughed and clung onto Link's broad torso. "You came, I can't believe you came. Just like Talo said!" she exclaimed.

"What jerks!" Midna muttered so no one but Link could here. "That blond haired kid said that."

Link glanced fondly at Colin, pushing the three other children out of the way roughly. He put his arms around Colin and held him close. "Colin, you were very brave!" he muttered in a very low tone.

Colin beamed at the complement.

"So, you are the one from Ordon who these children spoke of?" Renado asked, coming up and swatting the children away like flies.

Link nodded, slightly loosening Colin's very tight grip. "Yes, I am Link."

"We are well met. I am Renado, shaman of this town. And this…" he motioned towards his left. Barnes put up his metal face-plate and smiled crazily at Link. "…Is my daughter Luda." he said, pointing down at his very wise looking daughter.

Barnes threw up his hands in disgust and stalked away. "Don't go introducing your buddy. You know…the one that _saved_ you from those flesh-eating monsters!"

Renado smiled. "That was Barnes; he's the bomb maker in this town. He…" Renado paused to think of the right words.

"He isn't to right in the head." Luda said with a smug smile.

Link grinned and looked down at Colin. "What happened after you were taken?" he asked.

"Renado and Barnes ambushed the monsters and helped us escape. Then they sheltered us until the other black monsters left and you came along!" Colin explained.

"At first I could not believe that they had come from so distant a place as Ordon Province…"

"Yeah, and I don't remember much else. All of a sudden everyone was captured, and then…until now…it's been like…" he trailed off, trying to think of the words to describe it.

"A nightmare." Malo stated flatly, coming up to stand in front of Link.

"It was like a horrible nightmare from which we could not wake up!" Beth crooned softly.

"Mmm…Nightmares seem to be everywhere these days. This village has certainly had its share." Renado added thoughtfully. "First, the dark beasts attacked. Most of the townspeople fled during that terrible time. But even worse was the sudden and unexplainable change that came over the mountain dwellers." he added, looking up at the fiery peak. "They have long been our friends, but suddenly they have started treating us as foes. Even now they refuse to let us anywhere near their mines. It strains the limits of belief to think that such a peaceful, noble, and proud tribe could turn savage so suddenly. It makes me wonder if something on the mountain is the cause of that change."

"Who are these mountain dwellers?" Link asked in curiosity.

"Gorons, very dangerous creatures to be your enemies, they are…" Barnes broke in rudely. "They have harnessed more explosive power than even I have. They use it to mine rocks. Not just precious ones, actually they hate the precious ones, except one, a ruby…But that was stolen many years ago. They like ordinary rocks… Do you know why?" he leered at Link.

Link shook his head.

"They _eat_ rocks! They are practically made out of stones themselves!" he screamed.

Renado rolled his eyes. "Only you can make the peaceful tribe seem so barbaric…"

"They aren't peaceful anymore, are they? They practically killed you when you went up to negotiate with them!"

Renado shook his head and shoved Barnes away from Link. "In any case, you must flee this village with the children and take them back home. The nightmares will descend again soon."

"Why don't you come with us?" Colin asked.

"I cannot, I am the shaman of this town, and thus am honor bound to stay by its walls. I must also try to coax back the Gorons, our pact was very beneficial for both parties. They seem to have forgotten that…"

"Let me help you." Link said.

"No, you have no concern in this matter. Take the children home."

Talo stamped his foot down. "We won't go until Link wants to go!" he screamed.

"I like that boy, forceful kind of man." Barnes murmured under his breath.

Renado sighed and turned around. "You could not help. The Gorons only recognize strength, a normal human would never persuade them. You would not last five minutes on the mountain!"

Link's face fell. "I need to help the Gorons." he muttered.

"There is one person that could help you. He's the mayor of your village actually!" Renado said with a grin. "He may be able to teach you how to gain a Gorons respect and trust. The children will only slow you down if you are in such a hurry as I see you are. I will keep them with me while you help us with the Goron situation."

Link nodded willingly. "That would work perfectly. Thank you."

"No need to thank me yet; you still haven't faced the Gorons yet." Renado said with a wink.


	20. Part 2, Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Underhand

Link rode up to his old village cautiously. He glanced around to see if anyone was around, there was not a sound in the entire village. All the windows were boarded up and not a breath of life seemed to come from the homes. He rode cautiously up to the mayor's house and knocked strongly on the door. He heard a few footsteps and the _"Shink"_ of a sword being drawn. The door opened up a crack and an eye peered out. "Who's there?" a gruff, burly voice asked.

Link stepped back from the door and waved. "Bo, please let me it. It's me, Link!"

The door was thrown open and the large man stood there with an unbelieving gaze on his face. He ran out of the door and grabbed Link in a big bear hug. "Link, you're safe and sound! When you never came back…" he stopped. "Where are the children?" he asked suddenly. "What happened to your clothes?" Bo asked again without giving Link time to respond. "Come inside and tell me everything that's happened!"

Link followed obediently and told Bo of everything that had happened to him, although he left out the part about becoming a wolf.

"I see, so the young ones are in Kakariko Village! That's good, if they are in Renado's care, then we have to reason to worry. You didn't mention Illia though…"

Link winced. "Illia wasn't among the children."

"What?!"

"Before I left, Colin told me that Illia had escaped before them. I didn't find her though."

"Well, I guess I'm just being selfish, only thinking about my own little girl and not the others…" Bo replied thoughtfully. "You say you need my help to win the Gorons respect?" he asked.

"Yes, it would be much appreciated." Link said.

Bo chuckled. "Do you know how the Gorons judge you worthy of respect?"

"No."

Bo chuckled again. "Gorons are big fellows, practically made out of the solid rock they eat! They have a certain order that they go by, that order is shown and maintained through acts of strength." Bo looked Link up and down. "And you weigh about one sixteenth of what they weigh…"

Link blanched.

Bo laughed. "Don't worry though; I would never have stood a chance against their heated wrestling matches if I didn't have my little secret… I'll let you know the secret, if you promise to not disclose it to anyone _especially_ the Gorons."

Link nodded.

"Good, come with me." he said as he waved Link over to one of the back rooms of his large house.

Five hours later, a very bruised Link rolled over on the large, padded, area that Bo used as a practice ring. He groaned as Bo came over and kicked him roughly. "Get up you sissy!" he screamed in mock toughness.

Link groaned again but refused to get up.

"You want to earn the Gorons respect, don't you?"

"There won't be enough of me left to earn it if you continue this way!" Link shouted back irritably.

"One more time, Link. It's easy; just remember to use your size for you. Dodge when you can, and if you can't, try to push me away." he instructed as he helped Link up to his feet. "Lure me towards the edge, and then push me off."

Bo swung with his right hand towards Link's face. Link ducked and dodged around Bo. He grabbed him from behind and pushed him forward slightly. Bo's feet slid slightly towards the edge. Bo whirled around and grabbed Link by the shoulders, forcing him back across the ring. Link punched Bo in the gut and then rammed into him, throwing his teacher down to the ground. Bo struggled up and ran at Link, Link dodged by quickly and thwacked Bo twice on his downward facing head. Bo teetered on the edge of the mat; Link seized the opportunity and pushed his opponent to the ground.

Bo started to laugh. "See? That wasn't so hard! You have a natural talent, and the Gorons won't be expecting your tactics."

Link flopped down on the Mat so he was sitting next to Bo. "But the Gorons are so much bigger than me; I'll never be able to push them! They could beat me one-handed!" Link said in exasperation.

"Not so… I still haven't told you my secret." Bo said with a wink. He walked towards a small chest in the corner of the room. He opened it quickly and grabbed a bundle that was inside it. He came over and unwrapped the bundle. Inside was a pair of boots. "I don't know what kind of boots these are, a suspicious looking merchant named Koume, sold them to me once. They are enchanted, they are made of metal. They have magnetic properties, and they are extremely heavy. If you wear them on your feet they meld to the shape of your foot, and you can walk normally in them!"

Link grabbed one of the boots on impulse and put it on. It seemed to melt into his skin and fitted comfortably. The toe of the boot came to a point, and it seemed to be jointed so he could flex his foot like he didn't have any shoes on. The metal continued to halfway up his thigh.

"Strange aren't they? My feet are at least two sizes bigger than yours, but they fit both you and me perfectly. I think they are enchanted. Try walking around in them."

Link put on the other boot and walked around. It felt like he was walking on air, there seemed to be no weight in the shoes made of metal.

Bo lumbered to his feet and pushed Link roughly. Link didn't budge. "When I try to move you, you don't move, but when you try to move, you move. Cool aren't they?"

"Very cool!" Link replied excitedly.

"I'm glad you like them, the Gorons will not stand a chance against you now!"

Link looked up at Bo. "Thanks for everything, you've been a great help."

He smiled. "You're very much welcome. But can I ask you two favors?"

"Anything,"

"One, can you tell me why your shadow doesn't look like you, and why it's waving at you?"

Link glanced down at the shadow creature trying to flag him down. He glanced back up at Bo and smiled nervously. "Well, that's a long story."

Bo looked at him dubiously.

"Let's just say that the world is in a lot more trouble than we've ever imagined. And this little shadow is trying to help me."

"How can a shadow help you?" he asked curiously.

Midna jumped off of the ground and floated in front of the amazed Mayor's face. "I'm no shadow, buster." she hissed as she smiled with her amazingly sharp teeth.

Bo backed off nervously and Midna laughed. Link frowned. "What was the other thing you wanted to ask me?"

"Can you try to get my daughter back as soon as possible?" he asked, still glancing nervously at Midna. "And keep this thing away from her."

Midna rolled her eyes. "Good job on getting those boots, I'm sure they'll come in handy." Midna mumbled as she sank reluctantly back into Link's shadow.

"Don't worry, I'll do both." Link said with a laugh. He walked towards the door and waved.

"Good luck, Link!"

Beth stood in the blistering heat of the abandoned village. Her eyes rested expectantly on the entrance to the village through which Link would ride. She felt a hand gently touch her shoulder; it was Talo. He smiled shyly at her and stood next to her. They stood in silence for a while, both looking towards the way they knew Link would come. Talo slipped his hand closer to Beth's. He glanced sideways at her as she grabbed his hand gently. She smiled and blushed as they pulled closer to each other. Suddenly, Beth's eyes grew wide and she pulled away from Talo. "Did you hear that?" she asked.

Talo shook his head and squinted.

"It's a rumbling noise, like thunder." Beth said.

Talo thought for a few moments, concentrating hard. He nodded to Beth. "Yes, I hear it. It's probably nothing though."

Beth looked around unsure. "Maybe we should go tell Renado."

"No worries," he said lightly. "I'll protect you!" he said, standing bravely in front of her.

Beth rolled her eyes and giggled. "Like you could do anything of the sort."

Talo looked around indignantly. "I could if I wanted to!" he said with a small pout.

Their light-hearted banter was cut short as the rumbling grew so loud it shook their very bones. They stood back to back, wondering what was making such a horrible noise. Beth screamed and stood still, petrified. Talo whirled around to see what Beth was looking at. His eyes grew wide and he started to back away towards Renado's hut. Beth just stood there, her mouth agape and her eyes staring at the riders who had kidnapped them in the first place. Their boar's tusks were gleaming in fresh blood and their swords were wet with their current slaughter. The stench that emanated from them made Beth close her mouth and lean over, gagging. Talo turned around and started running. Beth looked up at the monsters closing in on her, every singly second seemed to pass by her eyes with excruciating slowness. Her knees gave out, she couldn't move. Suddenly, she felt two small, soft hands push her forcefully to one side. She stumbled out of the way and ran behind the bush, her mind kick-starting into overdrive. She peered behind her to see Colin being grabbed the large leader. Its fingers were so large that they could wrap entirely around Colin's small throat. Colin struggled but to no avail. The large creature expertly hit him on the back of the head, rendering him unconscious.

Beth screamed and backed farther away into the bush. Colin had saved her? Why?

The creature looked before him and held Colin up in a taunting motion. Beth looked over at the entrance to the canyon and saw a figure dressed in green riding on his mighty steed towards the monsters. His sword was drawn and he waved it in the air threateningly. The monsters started away on their boards, Link hard on their heels.

Colin awoke to see Link's concerned face looking at him. "Link?" he mumbled, confused. "I-is everyone ok?" he said, realizing that he was on the ground, loosely held in Link's arms.

Link smiled and nodded. "Yes everyone is ok."

"What happened?" he asked as he moved his head around, peering at all the relieved and friendly faces.

"Link battled those nasty monsters that kidnapped you! He even jousted with the one that held you prisoner. I heard that they tied you up to a pole and let you fly like their flag!" Talo said rather loudly.

Beth shot him a glance that would have killed and put a hand on Colin's wrist.

"Beth…I'm sorry for pushing you." Colin murmured. "Are you…mad?"

"Colin, you were very brave. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be here." she said with a gracious smile.

Talo shot a venomous glance as Colin and stood up. "Well, he's ok. I'm going back in the hut now, it's too filthy out here." he said, accenting the word filthy.

Colin ignored the comment and looked back at Link's proud face. "I…I think I finally understand why you do this. Why you have always protected all of us… I understand now what my dad meant when he said I needed to be stronger like you." he raised his hand and made sure he could see all five of his fingers clearly. "He wasn't talking about lifting stuff, like I thought at first. He was talking about being brave." he explained as he balled his hands into a tiny fist.

Link grabbed onto the fist and held it cupped in one palm. "Your father is a very wise man."

"Link, I know for sure that you can do anything… You can help the Gorons in the mine too."

Renado shook his head in admiration and then shoved his daughter forwards a few steps. "Take him into the house and make him comfortable, he may have broken a few things." he ordered. He helped Link up and took him aside. "That is an amazing boy, always putting others before himself. He is unlike the other boys in every way, he is much like you. I hope that you have found a way to deal with the Gorons." he said anxiously.

"Yes, I have. I will start my ascent up the mountain tomorrow.

Renado nodded and started to usher the other children inside the house. Link followed.

That night, Colin awoke with a start. He felt a small, sharp hand touching his face. A small finger touched his lips. "Sshhh.." a small voice whispered. "I saw everything that happened today." the small, shadowy figure sighed and hopped off of his bed. "One day, you will be very much like Link. You are a very courageous little boy, don't let Talo's words ever hurt you." the feminine voice encouraged. "Hopefully, someday I can learn this human courage which seems to infect so many people in this world. I wish I had it now…I would be able to face my own problems with much more certainty…" it rambled.

Colin started to sit up but the figure pushed him back onto the bed. "No, don't get up. I just wanted to see the brave little boy who saved a girl's life face-to-face. I'm sorry, I'll leave now."

The figure started to melt away into complete darkness and Colin lay back on the bed.

"Oh, and don't tell anyone about this little chat… okay?"


End file.
